Gaines v. Greigore
- Robert Illman
- 1:23-cv-06195
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Gaines v. Greigore, Judge Claire transferred the civil-rights case to the Northern District of California because the claim arose in Alameda County.
The order moves Jacobi Gaines's case against Karl Greigore from the Eastern District of California to the Northern District of California; it does not decide the underlying civil-rights claim.
What happened
Jacobi Gaines, a state prisoner representing himself, sued Karl Greigore under a federal civil-rights law and asked to proceed without paying the filing fee. The opinion states that the claim arose in Alameda County.
The court explained that federal law generally requires a civil case to be filed where a defendant resides or where a substantial part of the events occurred. Alameda County is in the Northern District of California, so the case was filed in the wrong federal district.
The court transferred the case to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California rather than dismissing it. Judge Claire signed the order.
The detailed version
- Gaines v. Greigore · No. 1:23-cv-06195
- Robert Illman
- Nov. 28, 2023
Background
Jacobi Gaines, identified as a state prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, filed a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Karl Greigore. Gaines also filed an application to proceed without paying the filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
Venue analysis
The court applied the federal venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). That statute permits a civil action to be brought in certain districts, including a district where a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred. The court stated that Gaines's claim arose in Alameda County, which is in the Northern District of California.
Disposition
The court concluded that the action should have been filed in the Northern District of California. Citing 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), which permits transfer of a case filed in the wrong district when doing so serves the interests of justice, the court ordered that the matter be transferred to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The order did not state a disposition of the application to proceed without paying the filing fee.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.