Franken v. Jewell

Filing 39

ORDER Transferring Action to the United States District of Wyoming signed by Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean on 07/01/2016. (Flores, E) [Transferred from California Eastern on 7/6/2016.]

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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KEVIN FRANKEN,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
SALLY JEWELL, SECRETARY, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR;
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK;
DAVID HALLAC, individually; and
DOES 1-8,

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Case No. 1:15-cv-01368-EPG
ORDER TRANSFERRING ACTION
TO THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT, DISTRICT OF WYOMING
(ECF No. 27)

Defendants.

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Plaintiff Kevin Franken initially filed a complaint on September 8, 2015. (ECF No. 1).

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Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss that complaint on November 18, 2015. (ECF No. 11.)

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Before briefing was completed on the motion, the parties agreed to allow the filing of a first

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amended complaint.1 The First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) was then filed on January 12,

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2016. (ECF No. 18.) The FAC alleges events arising out of Plaintiff’s employment at

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Yellowstone National Park and the termination of that employment. The FAC includes claims

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under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and a single claim for conversion under Wyoming state law. Plaintiff

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currently resides in California and Defendant David Hallac currently resides in North Carolina.

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Shortly thereafter, the parties consented to have a United States Magistrate Judge conduct all proceedings in the
case. (ECF Nos. 13, 14, 28, 29.)

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On April 10, 2016, Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss the FAC. (ECF No. 27.)

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Among other things, Defendants asserted that venue in the Eastern District of California is

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improper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) and that the Court lacks personal jurisdiction over Defendant

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Hallac because he has no “minimum contacts” to California in conformance with California’s

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long-arm statute. In his opposition, Plaintiff acknowledged that the case should be transferred to

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the District of Wyoming and asked for leave to file a second amended complaint.
Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss came on for hearing on May 25, 2016 at 10:30 a.m.

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Plaintiff Kevin Franken appeared telephonically through counsel Micah Fargey of Fargey Law

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P.C. and Defendants appeared through counsel Bruce Emard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. At

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the hearing, the parties: (1) agreed that transfer to the District of Wyoming was appropriate; (2)

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agreed that Plaintiff could receive leave to file a second amended complaint; and (3) asked that

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the Court conduct a settlement conference to determine if the case could be settled before the

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transfer was effected. The settlement conference was conducted on June 29, 2016. The case did

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not settle. The parties’ request to transfer the case is thus before the Court.

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Title 28 of the United States Code section 1391(b) provides:

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A civil action wherein jurisdiction is not founded solely on diversity of citizenship
may, except as otherwise provided by law, be brought only in (1) a judicial
district where any defendant resides, if all defendants reside in the same State, (2)
a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise
to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the
action is situated, or (3) a judicial district in which any defendant may be found, if
there is no district in which the action may otherwise be brought.

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The Court finds that, based on the allegations in the FAC, that a “substantial part of the

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events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred” within the District of Wyoming and that

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the District of Wyoming is a judicial district in which at least one of the Defendants may be

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found. 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2), (3). The Court thus determines that it is appropriate to transfer

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this case to the District of Wyoming.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this case is TRANSFERRED to the United

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States District Court for the District of Wyoming.

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After transferring this case, the Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to close this action.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

July 1, 2016

/s/
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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