Torgerson v. Law & Crime Productions

Background

Kristopher Paul Torgerson, who is incarcerated at Waupun Correctional Institution in Wisconsin, filed this self-represented lawsuit against Law & Crime Productions, LLC; Jellysmack, Inc.; and Google LLC, doing business as YouTube. He asserts claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law, and seeks damages, court orders requiring or prohibiting conduct, and declarations of his rights.

Torgerson alleges that the defendants conducted unauthorized, commercial livestreaming of his Wisconsin criminal trial and published, edited, monetized, and syndicated material from the trial without court authorization or his consent. The trial occurred in Marathon County, Wisconsin, which is in the Western District of Wisconsin. Torgerson also alleges that Google has operations and commercial infrastructure in New York and profits from viewership there.

Venue and Transfer

Venue is the federal district where a lawsuit may properly be heard. The court considered the federal venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). It found that the Southern District of New York might be a proper venue based on the allegations concerning the defendants’ activities and connections there. It also found that the Western District of Wisconsin was a proper venue because a substantial part of the alleged events occurred in Marathon County.

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), a federal 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 concluded that transfer appeared appropriate because the alleged events occurred in Wisconsin and relevant documents and witnesses were reasonably expected to be located there. It therefore transferred the action to the Western District of Wisconsin.

Rulings and Effect

The court directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the Western District of Wisconsin. The New York court did not decide whether Torgerson’s claims were legally valid. It stated that the transferee court would decide whether he could continue without prepaying fees and whether his pending motion concerning summonses and service should be granted. Summonses would not issue from the Southern District of New York, and the court terminated that pending motion there.

The order closed the action in the Southern District of New York. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.