Amu'ra El v. Mastronardi

Background

Jamal Babatundi Amu’ra El, appearing without a lawyer, brought an action against Commanding Officer John A. Mastronardi, Officer Gessner, the New York City Police Department 75th Precinct, North Auto Towing Inc., and Domenick Salvato. He alleged that the defendants violated his rights in Brooklyn and Queens, New York.

The opinion states that Amu’ra El alleged Officer Gessner caused his vehicle to be improperly towed from his Brooklyn residence. When he tried to recover the vehicle from Northside Auto Towing in Queens County, he was told that he needed a valid driver’s license and had to pay $600.

Venue analysis

Federal venue rules generally allow a civil action to be brought where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, in certain circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction. The court also described how those rules apply to individual and corporate defendants.

The court found that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York because Amu’ra El did not allege that any defendant resided there or that a substantial part of the relevant events occurred there. The court determined that the claims arose in Brooklyn and Queens, both of which are in the Eastern District of New York.

Ruling and effect

Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the action transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). The Clerk was directed to mail the order to Amu’ra El, record service on the docket, and transfer the action. The order states that the transferee court will decide whether he may proceed without prepaying fees. A summons was not to issue from the Southern District of New York, and the order closed the case there.

The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion does not decide whether Amu’ra El’s underlying claims are valid.