Min v. McGibbon
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-05247
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Min v. McGibbon, Judge Swain transferred the case to the Eastern District of New York because the claims arose in Brooklyn.
Saeyoung Min’s case was moved from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York. Mallory A. McGibbon and Orok-ita A. Ukpong remain the defendants, and the Eastern District will decide whether the case proceeds and whether Min may proceed without prepaying fees.
What happened
In Min v. McGibbon, Saeyoung Min, representing herself, sued Mallory A. McGibbon and Orok-ita A. Ukpong over their alleged unpaid occupancy of her Brooklyn rental property. She invoked federal jurisdiction based on the parties’ alleged citizenship and brought state-law claims.
The court found that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York because neither defendant was alleged to live there and the events occurred in Kings County, which is in the Eastern District. The court determined that the case could be brought in the Eastern District of New York.
Judge Swain ordered the Clerk to transfer the case to that district under the federal venue-transfer law. The Southern District case was closed, no summons would issue there, and the transferee court would decide whether Min could proceed without paying filing fees. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Min v. McGibbon · No. 1:24-cv-05247
- Laura Swain
- July 11, 2024
Background
Saeyoung Min, who was proceeding without a lawyer, brought state-law claims against Mallory A. McGibbon and Orok-ita A. Ukpong. Min invoked diversity jurisdiction, which allows certain claims between citizens of different states. She alleged that the defendants rented an apartment at 195 Macon Street in Brooklyn, New York, beginning October 1, 2020, and remained there without paying until March 2024. Min said she obtained possession through a holdover proceeding in Kings County Landlord-Tenant Court after giving a 30-day termination notice. She also stated that she had asked the state court to separate certain claims so she could pursue them separately.
Venue Analysis
Venue is the proper geographic federal court location for a case. The court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1391 and concluded that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York. Under the statute, venue may be proper where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events or property involved in the case is located, or, in limited circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction.
The court explained that Min alleged McGibbon was from New Jersey and Ukpong allegedly resided in Washington, D.C.; neither defendant was alleged to be domiciled in the Southern District. The court also found that the events underlying the claims occurred in Kings County, outside the Southern District. Because the claims arose in Brooklyn, the court determined that venue was proper in the Eastern District of New York.
Ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), when a case is filed in the wrong venue, a court may dismiss it or, when appropriate, transfer it to a district where it could have been brought. The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in the interest of justice.
The Clerk was directed to transfer the action, and the case was closed in the Southern District. The court stated that the transferee court would decide whether Min could proceed without prepaying fees, and that no summons would issue from the Southern District. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.