Moore v. Lee
- Cathy Seibel
- 7:24-cv-06518
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Moore v. Lee, Judge Chen transferred Alicia Moore’s case from the Eastern District of New York to the Southern District because the claims and most defendants were there.
Alicia Moore and the defendants are affected because the case was transferred from the Eastern District of New York to the Southern District of New York; the opinion also permits Moore to raise her proposed amendment in the transferee court.
What happened
In Moore v. Lee, Alicia Moore filed a fee-paid complaint without a lawyer in the Eastern District of New York. The court asked why the case should not be transferred because most defendants and the events described were in Westchester, Bronx, and New York Counties. Moore’s response mentioned defendants in Brooklyn and sought to add a neighbor in Yonkers.
The court found that Moore had not shown why venue was proper in the Eastern District. It concluded that the claims mainly concerned events in Yonkers, Westchester County, and Manhattan, and that the documents, witnesses, and most defendants were in the Southern District of New York.
Judge Pamela K. Chen ordered the case transferred to the Southern District of New York under the federal transfer statute. The court closed the case in the Eastern District, and said Moore could ask the transferee court to add the neighbor as a defendant.
The detailed version
- Moore v. Lee · No. 7:24-cv-06518
- Cathy Seibel
- Aug. 26, 2024
Background
Alicia Moore filed a fee-paid civil-rights complaint without a lawyer against Nathan Lee and other defendants in the Eastern District of New York. The court had previously directed Moore to explain why the case should not be transferred to the Southern District of New York. Moore responded that a landlord and broker lived in Brooklyn and were involved in housing, phone, and bank issues. She also asked to add a Yonkers neighbor who allegedly vandalized her car, made accusations against her, threatened to call the police, and acted on the landlord’s instructions.
The complaint primarily concerned housing and mailbox issues in Yonkers, along with medical-care, employment, and bank-account issues in Westchester County and Manhattan. The opinion states that twelve defendants were alleged to reside in Westchester and New York Counties, while three were alleged to reside in Brooklyn or Long Island.
Transfer Analysis
Federal law allows a civil case to be filed where a defendant resides or where a substantial part of the events occurred. Even when venue is proper, 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) allows transfer to another federal district where the case could have been brought when transfer would serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and the interests of justice.
The court considered the location of the operative events, parties, documents, and witnesses, among other factors. It found that Moore had not provided specific reasons showing why venue was proper in the Eastern District. The court also found that all of the alleged events appeared to have occurred within the Southern District, and that the documents, witnesses, and most parties were located there.
Ruling
The court transferred the case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). The Clerk was directed to transfer the case, mail Moore a copy of the order, and close the case in the Eastern District of New York. The court stated that Moore could raise her request to add the neighbor as a defendant in the transferee court. The order addressed venue and transfer, not the underlying merits of Moore’s claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.