Farha v. Foss

Background

Mauwai Farha, who was being held at Salinas Valley State Prison, filed a civil-rights action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and was allowed to proceed without paying the filing fee. His original complaint named Tammatha Foss, M. Johnson, J. Frailey, H. Wagner, R. St. Andre, and unidentified defendants. It described alleged constitutional violations at Salinas Valley State Prison and at High Desert State Prison, where Farha had previously been incarcerated, but did not clearly identify when the events occurred or which prison was connected to each defendant.

In an earlier order, the court dismissed the complaint with permission to amend. It dismissed claims relating to High Desert State Prison without prejudice because that prison is in the Eastern District of California. The court also gave Farha instructions for alleging facts supporting constitutional violations concerning events at Salinas Valley. It dismissed claims against Foss with permission to amend because the complaint did not adequately connect her to the alleged conduct, and a supervisor cannot be held liable under § 1983 solely because of that supervisory position.

Amended Complaint and Venue

Farha’s amended complaint stated that the events described occurred at High Desert State Prison and identified Johnson and Frailey as employees there during the relevant period. The court also noted that Foss appeared in the amended-complaint caption but was not listed as a named defendant in the body of that complaint.

Ruling

The court held that venue—the proper federal district for the case—was in the Eastern District of California because the alleged conduct occurred at High Desert State Prison. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), the court TRANSFERRED the case to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. It ordered the clerk to terminate all pending motions in the Northern District and transfer the entire file. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers signed the order.