Kern v. Turner
- Charles Breyer
- 3:24-cv-04744
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Kern v. Turner, Judge Kim transferred the pro se civil-rights case to the Northern District of California because the claim arose there.
The transfer affects James Curtis Kern’s case against Andrew Turner and the other named defendants by moving it from the Eastern District of California to the Northern District of California.
What happened
James Curtis Kern, a state prisoner representing himself, filed a civil-rights case under federal law against Andrew Turner and other defendants. He had not paid the filing fee or submitted an application to proceed without paying it.
The court explained that federal venue rules generally allow a case to be filed where a defendant resides or where a substantial part of the events occurred. The order states that Kern’s claim arose in Del Norte County, which is in the Northern District of California.
The court transferred the case to the Northern District of California in the interest of justice under the federal venue statute. Judge Chi Soo Kim signed the order.
The detailed version
- Kern v. Turner · No. 3:24-cv-04744
- Charles Breyer
- Aug. 2, 2024
Background
James Curtis Kern, identified in the order as a state prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, filed a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The order states that Kern had not paid the filing fee and had not filed an application to proceed without paying it.
Venue analysis
The court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), the federal venue statute. That statute permits a civil action to be brought in specified districts, including a district where a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim occurred. The court determined that Kern’s claim arose in Del Norte County, which is in the Northern District of California.
Disposition
The court stated that a federal court may transfer a complaint filed in the wrong district to the correct district when doing so serves the interest of justice. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), the court ordered that the matter be transferred to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The order did not decide the underlying civil-rights claims. Judge Chi Soo Kim signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.