Friedeberg v. T.J. Maxx

Background

Donna L. Friedeberg filed this action without a lawyer against “T.J. Maxx of 624 West Main St, Norwich, CT.” The opinion states that her claims appeared to arise from a purchase at a T.J. Maxx store in Norwich, Connecticut. The complaint was not signed.

Venue analysis

The court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), the federal statute governing the proper location for a civil case. The court explained that a case may generally be brought where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, in certain circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court’s authority.

The court found that the District of Connecticut was clearly a proper venue because the defendant had a store in Norwich and because Friedeberg appeared to allege that substantial events underlying her claims occurred there. The court said it was unclear whether the Southern District of New York was a proper venue because Friedeberg did not provide enough information about whether T.J. Maxx resided in that district or where in New York a Roman Catholic bishop mentioned in the allegations was located.

Transfer and disposition

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), a federal court may transfer a case to another federal court for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. The court determined that transfer appeared appropriate because relevant documents and witnesses could reasonably be located in Connecticut. It therefore transferred the action to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.

The order directs the Clerk to make the transfer and states that the action is 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 fees. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal. The order did not resolve the merits of Friedeberg’s claims.