Blandon v. Gemini Express Transport Corp. and Henry Fung
Michael Blandon, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. Gemini Express Transport Corp. and Henry Fung
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:25-cv-04665
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Michael Blandon v. Gemini Express Transport and Henry Fung, Judge Engelmayer transferred the wage case to New York’s Eastern District for improper venue.
The case brought by Michael Blandon against Gemini Express Transport Corp. and Henry Fung was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York. The transfer affects Blandon’s putative collective and class action and the defendants.
What happened
Michael Blandon brought a wage-and-hour case under federal and New York law for himself and other similarly situated workers. He alleged that Gemini Express Transport Corp. and Henry Fung failed to pay overtime, pay wages weekly, and provide required wage notices and statements. Blandon asked to move the case from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District, and the defendants did not take a position.
The court found that the complaint did not allege facts showing that venue was proper in the Southern District. Instead, it alleged that the relevant events occurred at the defendants’ warehouse in Springfield Gardens, Queens County, and that Gemini was headquartered there. Those allegations placed the case in the Eastern District of New York.
The court granted Blandon’s motion and transferred the case to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in the interest of justice. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer directed the clerk to terminate the motion and close the case in the Southern District.
The detailed version
- Blandon v. Gemini Express Transport Corp. and Henry Fung · No. 1:25-cv-04665
- Paul Engelmayer
- Oct. 14, 2025
Background
Michael Blandon filed a putative collective and class action under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York labor laws. The complaint alleged that the defendants failed to pay overtime wages, pay salaries weekly, and provide wage notices and wage statements. The defendants filed an answer and an amended answer, and the court held an initial pretrial conference and issued a case-management and scheduling order.
Blandon then moved to transfer the action to the Eastern District of New York, stating that it had been filed in the wrong federal district. The opinion states that the defendants did not take a position on the motion.
Venue analysis
Venue rules generally allow a civil action to proceed in a district where a defendant resides, if the statutory conditions are met, or where a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claims occurred. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406, when a case is filed in the wrong venue, the court may dismiss it or, in the interest of justice, transfer it to a district where it could have been brought.
The court concluded that the complaint did not allege facts supporting venue in the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleged that the events underlying Blandon’s claims occurred at the defendants’ warehouse in Springfield Gardens, Queens County, and that Gemini Express Transport Corp. was headquartered at that location. Because Springfield Gardens is in the Eastern District of New York, the court concluded that venue lay there.
Disposition
The court granted Blandon’s motion and transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in the interest of justice. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer directed the clerk to terminate the motion at Docket 22, transfer the case, and close the Southern District case.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.