Pereira v. Mehling Orthopedics LLC

Background

Alan Pereira brought claims of discrimination and retaliation against his former employers and against Brian Mehling and Doreen Santora. Pereira alleged that he worked for Mehling Orthopedics LLC, Mehling Office Management LLC, and Blue Horizon International LLC beginning in October 2021. He ended his relationship with Mehling in January 2025, and he alleged that Mehling retaliated against him afterward. Pereira also alleged that requests for paid time off were denied and that he resigned on February 22, 2025.

Pereira filed the action in the Southern District of New York on June 24, 2025, and later filed an amended complaint. He asserted claims under New York and New Jersey law, primarily concerning employment discrimination and retaliation. At the time of the events, Pereira lived in Manhattan and mostly worked remotely from home beginning in 2022. He now lives in Georgia. The corporate defendants share a principal place of business in New Jersey. Santora is a New Jersey resident. Pereira alleged that Mehling owns an apartment in Manhattan, while Mehling stated in a declaration that he is a New Jersey resident.

Motions and Transfer Standard

The defendants renewed a motion seeking dismissal on several grounds, including lack of personal jurisdiction, the doctrine requiring dismissal when another forum is substantially more appropriate, improper group pleading, and failure to state a claim. Alternatively, they sought transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a).

Section 1404(a) permits a federal court to transfer a civil action, for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice, to another federal district where the action could have been brought. The court applied a two-step analysis: first, whether the case could have been brought in the proposed district; and second, whether convenience and the interests of justice favored transfer. The defendants bore the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence that transfer was warranted.

Court’s Analysis

The parties did not dispute that the action could have been brought in the District of New Jersey. The court also found that convenience and the interests of justice favored transfer.

The court gave little weight to Pereira’s choice of New York as the forum. Although Pereira had lived and worked there during his employment, he now lived in Georgia, while the defendants were based in New Jersey and the employment occurred there. The court concluded that choosing New York did not appear to have been motivated by convenience.

The court identified New Jersey as the location of the employment, the defendants’ businesses, and the alleged harm. It therefore found New Jersey to be the location most connected to the events, the more convenient forum for the parties, and the place where depositions were most likely to occur. The court found that allegations about Mehling’s Manhattan apartment and a possible second Mehling Orthopedics location on Long Island were of secondary significance and did not change the result.

Disposition

The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Because transfer resolved the appropriate forum, the court stated that it was unnecessary to address the defendants’ arguments for dismissal. Judge Denise Cote directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action.