Rose v. Department of Parole
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-05714
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Rose v. Department of Parole, Chief Judge Swain transferred the false-arrest case to the Eastern District of New York.
The transfer affects King Luqman Laquan Rose and the defendant identified as the Department of Parole, which the court understood to be the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The case will proceed, if permitted, in the Eastern District of New York rather than the Southern District of New York.
What happened
In Rose v. Department of Parole, King Luqman Laquan Rose, who is representing himself, sued the Department of Parole under a federal civil-rights law. He alleges that he was falsely arrested in Brooklyn, New York, and is currently detained at the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island.
The court said that Brooklyn was where the events underlying the claims occurred, making the Eastern District of New York a proper venue. It also concluded that the Eastern District appeared more convenient because relevant witnesses and documents would likely be in Brooklyn, so it transferred the action there. The case was closed in the Southern District of New York, and the transferee court will decide whether Rose may proceed without paying filing fees in advance.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the transfer. She also directed that no summons issue from the Southern District of New York and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Rose v. Department of Parole · No. 1:25-cv-05714
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 7, 2025
Background
King Luqman Laquan Rose, also identified as Laquan Rose, filed a lawsuit without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleges that he was falsely arrested in Brooklyn, New York. The complaint names the “Department of Parole” as the defendant. The court understood that name to refer to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the state agency responsible for administering parole in New York. The opinion states that Rose was detained at the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island.
Venue
The court explained that federal law generally permits 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. Rose did not state the residence of the agency he sued. But the complaint and records maintained by the New York City Department of Correction indicated that the arrest underlying his claims occurred in Brooklyn. Brooklyn is in Kings County, within the Eastern District of New York. The court therefore concluded that venue was proper there because the relevant events occurred there.
Transfer ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), a court may transfer a case to another proper federal district for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. The court found that transfer appeared appropriate because the underlying events occurred in Brooklyn and the relevant documents and witnesses could reasonably be expected to be there. It concluded that the Eastern District of New York appeared to be the more convenient forum.
Disposition
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The order closed the case in the Southern District of New York. It stated that the transferee court would decide whether Rose could proceed without paying fees in advance. The Southern District court also directed that no summons issue from it. Finally, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), it certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.