Holliday v. Murphy
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-00252
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Holliday v. Murphy, Judge McMahon transferred the case to the Northern District of New York because venue was improper in Manhattan.
Dorian Holliday's case was moved from the Southern District of New York to the Northern District of New York. The receiving court will decide whether he may proceed without prepaying fees.
What happened
In Holliday v. Murphy, Dorian Holliday, who is incarcerated and representing himself, alleged that Correctional Officer Kenneth Murphy violated his federal constitutional rights. The alleged events occurred at Marcy Correctional Facility.
The court held that venue was improper in the Southern District of New York because Holliday did not allege that Murphy lived there or that the events occurred there. Marcy is in Oneida County, within the Northern District of New York.
Judge Colleen McMahon transferred the action to the Northern District of New York under federal venue law and closed the case in the Southern District. The receiving court will decide whether Holliday may continue without paying filing fees; the Southern District also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Holliday v. Murphy · No. 1:20-cv-00252
- Colleen McMahon
- Jan. 16, 2020
Background
Dorian Holliday, who is incarcerated at Midstate Correctional Facility and is proceeding without a lawyer, filed a federal constitutional-rights action against Kenneth Murphy, identified as a Correctional Officer assigned to Marcy Correctional Facility. Holliday alleged that the events supporting his claims occurred at Marcy.
Venue analysis
Federal law permits a civil action to be filed in certain districts, including a district where a defendant resides or where a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claims occurred. The court found that Holliday did not allege facts showing that Murphy resided in the Southern District of New York or that any relevant events or omissions occurred there. The court stated that Marcy is in Oneida County, in the Northern District of New York, and that Holliday's claims arose there.
Ruling and effect
The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), the statute allowing transfer when venue is improper. The court directed the Clerk to mail Holliday a copy of the order, record service, and transfer the action. It stated that the Northern District would decide whether Holliday could proceed without prepaying fees, and that no summons would issue from the Southern District. The order closed the case in the Southern District. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.