Friedeberg v. Both Sacred Heart Churches of Norwich
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-03959
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Friedeberg v. Both Sacred Heart Churches, Judge Swain transferred the pro se action to Connecticut because venue was improper in New York.
Donna L. Friedeberg and the named defendants; the case was moved from the Southern District of New York to the District of Connecticut, where further decisions will be made.
What happened
In Friedeberg v. Both Sacred Heart Churches of Norwich, Donna L. Friedeberg sued the churches and congregants Paulette Devino and Mike Wolak, alleging that they violated her rights. The opinion says Friedeberg resides in Norwich, Connecticut, and that her claims arose there.
The court found that nothing in the complaint showed that the defendants or the events were connected to the Southern District of New York. Because the case was filed in the wrong federal district, the court transferred it to the District of Connecticut rather than dismissing it.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the transfer and closed the case in the Southern District of New York. She also ruled that this court would not issue a summons, left any decision about proceeding without paying filing fees to the receiving court, and denied fee-free status for an appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Friedeberg v. Both Sacred Heart Churches of Norwich · No. 1:25-cv-03959
- Laura Swain
- May 20, 2025
Background
Donna L. Friedeberg, proceeding without a lawyer, brought an action alleging that “Both Sacred Heart Churches of Norwich” and congregants Paulette Devino and Mike Wolak violated her rights. The opinion states that Friedeberg resides in Norwich, Connecticut, and that she alleged violations occurring in and around her residence.
Venue analysis
Venue is the federal district where a civil case may properly be heard. The court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1391 and explained that venue generally may be proper where a defendant resides or where a substantial part of the events occurred. Friedeberg provided a Norwich address for Devino and an address in Taftville, Connecticut, for Wolak. Although she did not provide addresses for the churches, the court presumed that they were located in Norwich.
The court concluded that nothing in the complaint suggested that any defendant resided in the Southern District of New York or that the events giving rise to the claims occurred there. It therefore found that venue was not proper in that district. The court determined that the claims arose in Norwich, which is in the District of Connecticut, and that all defendants appeared to reside in Connecticut.
Ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), when a case is filed in the wrong venue, a court may dismiss it or, when justice favors that result, transfer it to a district where it could have been filed. The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut in the interest of justice.
The Clerk was directed to transfer the action, and the order stated that the case was closed in the Southern District of New York. A summons was not to issue from that court. The transferee court was left to decide whether Friedeberg could proceed without prepaying filing fees. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.