Edge v. ShopRite Corporation
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04709
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Edge v. ShopRite Corporation, Judge Swain transferred the case to Connecticut because New York was not the proper venue.
Robin Edge’s lawsuit against ShopRite Corporation and its management team was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the District of Connecticut.
What happened
Robin Edge, representing herself, sued ShopRite Corporation and its management team, alleging race and religion discrimination at a ShopRite store in Norwich, Connecticut. The court noted that Edge did not provide facts showing that ShopRite lived in New York or was subject to the New York court’s authority.
Because the events occurred in Connecticut, the court ruled that venue was proper in the District of Connecticut rather than the Southern District of New York. It transferred the action there instead of dismissing it, finding that transfer served the interests of justice.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the transfer, closed the New York case, and left the decision about allowing Edge to proceed without paying filing fees to the Connecticut court. The court also said any appeal would not qualify for fee-free status.
The detailed version
- Edge v. ShopRite Corporation · No. 1:25-cv-04709
- Laura Swain
- June 10, 2025
Background
Robin Edge filed this action without a lawyer against ShopRite Corporation and its management team, alleging race and religion discrimination at a ShopRite store in Norwich, Connecticut. The opinion states that Edge mailed the complaint to the court without providing contact information, signing the complaint, paying the filing fee, or asking that the fee be waived. The envelope indicated that it was mailed from Hartford, Connecticut.
Venue analysis
The court explained that federal law generally permits a civil action 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. Edge did not state where ShopRite resides and did not allege facts suggesting that ShopRite resides in New York or is subject to personal jurisdiction there. Because the alleged events occurred in Norwich, Connecticut, the court concluded that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York and that the case could be brought in the District of Connecticut.
Ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), a court may transfer a case filed in the wrong venue when transfer serves the interests of justice. The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. It directed that no summons issue from the New York court and stated that whether Edge may proceed without paying fees would be decided by the Connecticut court. The order closed the New York case. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal. The court did not decide the merits of Edge’s discrimination allegations.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.