Andrews v. Qingbo
- Susan Van Keulen
- 5:25-cv-09804
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Solomon Andrews v. Sui Qingbo, Judge Peterson transferred the case to the Northern District of California because venue was improper.
Solomon James M. Andrews and the defendants, because the case was transferred from the Eastern District of California to the Northern District of California for further proceedings.
What happened
Solomon James M. Andrews, a state prisoner representing himself, sued Sui Qingbo and others under a federal civil-rights law. The opinion says he had not paid the filing fee or submitted an application to proceed without paying it.
The court explained that the defendants were located in Monterey County and that the claim arose there. Because Monterey County is in the Northern District of California, the court concluded that the case should have been filed there.
Judge Jeremy D. Peterson ordered the matter transferred to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The opinion did not decide the underlying civil-rights claims.
The detailed version
- Andrews v. Qingbo · No. 5:25-cv-09804
- Susan Van Keulen
- Nov. 4, 2025
Background
Solomon James M. Andrews, identified as a state prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, filed a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The opinion states that he had not paid the filing fee and had not filed an application to proceed without paying it.
Venue analysis
The court applied the federal venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). That statute identifies districts where a civil action may be brought, including a district where a defendant resides when the statutory conditions are met or where a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim occurred.
The court found that the defendants were located in Monterey County and that the claim arose there. Monterey County is in the Northern District of California. The court therefore concluded that the action had been filed in the wrong federal district.
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 Jeremy D. Peterson ordered that the matter be transferred to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The opinion did not rule on the merits of Andrews's civil-rights claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.