McIntosh v. Parks
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00452
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In McIntosh v. Parks, Judge Swain transferred the civil-rights action to Western New York because the events and likely witnesses were in Monroe County.
John A. McIntosh’s case was moved from the Southern District of New York to the Western District of New York; Monroe County and the named and unnamed Monroe County Sheriff’s Office officers remain the defendants identified in the action.
What happened
In McIntosh v. Parks, John A. McIntosh, representing himself, sued Monroe County and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office officers under a federal civil-rights law. He alleged that the defendants violated his rights in Monroe County, New York.
The Southern District of New York concluded that the Western District of New York was a proper and more convenient place for the case. The court relied on the location of the events, the employment of the individual defendants, and the likely location of documents and witnesses. It also noted that McIntosh appeared to have filed a similar earlier case in the Western District.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the case transferred to the Western District of New York. The Southern District case was closed, no summons would issue there, and the transferee court would decide whether McIntosh could proceed without paying filing fees. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal from the transfer order.
The detailed version
- McIntosh v. Parks · No. 1:25-cv-00452
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 21, 2025
Background
John A. McIntosh brought this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing claims that state or local officials violated federal rights. He named Monroe County and named and unnamed officers with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office as defendants. He alleged that the events giving rise to his claims occurred in Monroe County, New York.
Venue and Transfer
The court explained that venue rules allow a civil case to proceed where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, in limited circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court’s authority. Monroe County is in the Western District of New York. Although McIntosh did not plead the defendants’ residences, he stated that he believed they resided in Monroe County. The court concluded that venue would be proper in the Western District because the alleged events occurred there.
The court then applied 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), which permits transfer to another proper district for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. It found that transfer appeared appropriate because the events occurred in Monroe County, the individual defendants worked there, and relevant documents and witnesses could reasonably be expected to be there. The court also noted that McIntosh appeared to have filed a similar, possibly identical, earlier case in the Western District of New York, identified as No. 6:24-CV-6270.
Ruling and Effect
The court ordered the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York under Section 1404(a). The order closed the case in the Southern District of New York, and that court stated that a summons would not issue there. The Western District court was left to decide whether McIntosh could proceed without prepaying fees. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the merits of McIntosh’s civil-rights allegations.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.