Parkes v. Broward County Office of Medical Examiner & Trauma

Background

Tiffany Anne Parkes, who the opinion says resides in New York County, brought this action without a lawyer and invoked the court’s authority over disputes between citizens of different states. Her claims arise from events related to her mother’s death in Margate, Broward County, Florida. The defendants are the Broward County Office of Medical Examiner & Trauma and Forest Law Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens. The opinion says both defendants are located in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida.

Venue analysis

Federal law generally allows a civil case to be filed 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. The court determined from the complaint that both defendants reside in Broward County and that the events giving rise to Parkes’s claims occurred there. It therefore concluded that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York and that the case could properly have been brought in the Southern District of Florida.

Ruling

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406, a court may dismiss a case filed in the wrong venue or, when justice requires, transfer it to a district where it could have been brought. The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in the interest of justice. The Clerk was directed to make the transfer, and the order states that the New York case is closed. The court also stated that the Florida court would decide whether Parkes may proceed without prepaying fees, that no summons would issue from the New York court, and that fee-free status was denied for purposes of any appeal because the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.