Nava v. Newsom
- Riordan
- 3:25-cv-03508
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Nava v. Newsom, Judge Riordan transferred the excessive-force case to the Northern District of California because the alleged events occurred there.
The order affects Luis Alberto Alarcon Nava’s civil-rights case by moving it from the Eastern District of California to the Northern District of California. It does not resolve his excessive-force claim.
What happened
Luis Alberto Alarcon Nava, a state prisoner representing himself, filed a civil-rights lawsuit under Section 1983 against Gavin Newsom. He alleged that excessive force was used at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, California.
The court explained that federal venue rules generally allow a case to proceed where a substantial part of the events occurred. Because the alleged events occurred in Monterey County, the court determined that the case belonged in the Northern District of California rather than the Eastern District of California.
Judge Sean C. Riordan ordered the matter transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The order did not decide whether Nava’s excessive-force claim has merit.
The detailed version
- Nava v. Newsom · No. 3:25-cv-03508
- Riordan
- Apr. 15, 2025
Background
Luis Alberto Alarcon Nava, a state prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, filed a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He also filed an application to proceed without paying the filing fee. The opinion does not state that the court ruled on that application.
Nava alleged an excessive-force claim arising from events at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, California.
Venue
Federal venue rules provide that a civil case may generally be filed in a district 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 personal jurisdiction. The court determined that Nava’s claim arose in Monterey County and therefore should have been filed in the Northern District of California.
Ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), a federal court may transfer a case filed in the wrong district when doing so serves the interests of justice. Judge Sean C. Riordan ordered that the matter be transferred to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The order addressed venue only and did not decide the merits of the excessive-force claim.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.