Jacques v. Borrego
- Jeffrey White
- 4:24-cv-01712
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Jacques v. Borrego, Judge Barnes transferred Michael E. Jacques’s civil-rights case to the Northern District of California because the claim arose there.
The transfer affects Michael E. Jacques’s case against R. Borrego and the other named defendants by moving the matter to the Northern District of California; the order did not decide the underlying claims.
What happened
Michael E. Jacques, a state prisoner representing himself, filed a civil-rights lawsuit under federal law against R. Borrego and other defendants. He also applied to proceed without paying the filing fee.
The court stated that the claim arose in Monterey County, which is in the Northern District of California. Because the case was filed in the wrong federal district, the court determined that it should be transferred there.
Judge Barnes ordered the matter transferred to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The order addressed the proper court location and did not decide the underlying civil-rights claims.
The detailed version
- Jacques v. Borrego · No. 4:24-cv-01712
- Jeffrey White
- Mar. 18, 2024
Background
Michael E. Jacques, a state prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, filed a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He also filed an application to proceed without paying the filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
Venue
The court applied the federal venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). That statute identifies the federal districts where a civil action may be filed, including a district where a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim occurred.
The court stated that Jacques’s claim arose in Monterey County, which is in the Northern District of California. It therefore concluded that the action should have been filed in the Northern District of California rather than the district where it was filed.
Disposition
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), a federal court may transfer a case filed in the wrong district to the correct 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 address the merits of Jacques’s civil-rights claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.