Latimore v. Lakeview Shock Correctional Facility
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-05022
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Latimore v. Lakeview Shock Correctional Facility, Judge Swain transferred the action to the Western District of New York for improper venue.
The action brought by Theodore T. Latimore against Lakeview Shock Correctional Facility, O. Salgado, and D. Furguson was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Western District of New York; the transferee court will decide whether Latimore may proceed without prepaying fees.
What happened
In Latimore v. Lakeview Shock Correctional Facility, Theodore T. Latimore, who is incarcerated and representing himself, sued the facility and two offender rehabilitation coordinators over events at the facility.
Latimore alleged that the defendants changed his risk assessment in May 2023 while he was incarcerated at Lakeview Shock Correctional Facility. The court found that the defendants and the events were located outside the Southern District of New York, while the claims arose in Chautauqua County, which is in the Western District of New York.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York under the federal venue statute. The Southern District case was closed, and the court denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Latimore v. Lakeview Shock Correctional Facility · No. 1:24-cv-05022
- Laura Swain
- July 2, 2024
Background
Theodore T. Latimore brought this pro se action, meaning he was representing himself, against Lakeview Shock Correctional Facility; O. Salgado; and D. Furguson. The opinion says that Salgado and Furguson were offender rehabilitation coordinators who worked at the facility. Latimore alleged that, in May 2023, while he was incarcerated at Lakeview Shock Correctional Facility, the defendants created a new risk-assessment packet that changed his status from a low-risk violent-felony offender to a high-risk violent-felony offender.
Venue Analysis
The court applied the federal venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1391. It concluded that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York based on the defendants’ residence because Latimore provided addresses for all three defendants in Brocton, New York, outside that district. Venue was also not proper there based on the location of the events because Latimore alleged that all events giving rise to his claims occurred at Lakeview Shock Correctional Facility in Chautauqua County, New York.
The court determined that Chautauqua County is in the Western District of New York and that venue was proper there because the claims arose in that county. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), when a case is filed in the wrong venue, a court may dismiss it or, when justice requires, transfer it to a district where it could have been brought.
Ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). The order closed the case in the Southern District of New York, and a summons was not to issue from that court. The opinion states that the transferee court would decide whether Latimore could proceed without prepaying filing fees. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.