Berry v. Attorney General of The State of New York

Background

Jason Berry, who was incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility and proceeded without a lawyer, brought an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that New York State officials and corrections officers at Auburn Correctional Facility violated his constitutional rights. The opinion does not decide whether those allegations were true or whether the defendants violated the Constitution.

Venue analysis

Venue means the federal district where a case may properly be litigated. The court explained that federal law generally permits a civil action in a district where all defendants reside, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, when neither applies, where a defendant is subject to the court’s authority.

Berry’s complaint concerned events at Auburn Correctional Facility in Auburn, New York. He listed addresses for defendants in Albany, New York, and Auburn, New York. The court stated that he did not allege that the defendants resided in the Southern District of New York or that a substantial part of the events occurred there. Venue therefore did not appear proper in that district under the first two general venue provisions.

Transfer decision

The court also considered transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), which allows a court to move a case for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. The court noted that it could order a transfer on its own initiative. It considered the circumstances of the case, including the location of the events and defendants. Because the underlying events occurred in Auburn, where most defendants appeared to reside, and because Auburn is in Cayuga County within the Northern District of New York, the court concluded that transfer was appropriate and that venue was proper in the Northern District.

Disposition

The court directed the clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. It directed that the matter be assigned to Judge McMahon’s docket for the transfer process, that a copy of the order be mailed to Berry, and that service be noted on the docket. The court stated that the receiving court would decide whether Berry could proceed without prepaying fees. It ordered that no summons issue from the Southern District of New York and stated that the order closed the case there. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.