Hodge v. United State of America
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-03451
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Osborne Hodge v. United States, Judge McMahon transferred pro se landowners’ property-rights case to the Virgin Islands because the property is there.
The pro se landowner plaintiffs and the United States, the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, and David Bernhardt; the case was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the District of the Virgin Islands.
What happened
In Osborne Hodge, et al. v. United States of America, et al., a group of landowners representing themselves alleged that the United States and federal agencies had deprived them of property rights in land in the U.S. Virgin Islands and failed to maintain records supporting their ownership claims.
The court treated the case as an action under the Quiet Title Act, which provides the exclusive way to challenge the United States’ title to real property. Because the disputed property is in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the court determined that the case belonged in the federal court there.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the Clerk to transfer the case to the United States District Court of the Virgin Islands. She also ordered that no summons issue from the Southern District of New York, closed the case there, and denied the plaintiffs permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Hodge v. United State of America · No. 1:20-cv-03451
- Colleen McMahon
- May 12, 2020
Background
Osborne Hodge and other landowners, proceeding without lawyers, sued the United States, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, and David Bernhardt, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior. They alleged that the defendants had deprived them of property rights in certain tracts of land in the U.S. Virgin Islands and had unlawfully failed to maintain land records establishing their entitlement to the properties.
The plaintiffs cited several statutes, including criminal statutes, public-land surveying statutes, and the Federal Tort Claims Act. The court construed the action as one under the Quiet Title Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2409a. The court explained that the Quiet Title Act is the exclusive means for adverse claimants to challenge the United States’ title to real property.
Venue and Transfer
The court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1402(d), which requires a quiet-title action involving an interest claimed by the United States to be brought in the federal district where the property is located. Because the disputed property is located in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the court held that venue properly lies in the United States District Court of the Virgin Islands. It therefore transferred the action under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a).
Disposition
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court of the Virgin Islands, mail the order to the plaintiffs, and note service on the docket. The court stated that no summons would issue from the Southern District of New York and that the order closed the case there.
The plaintiffs had not paid the civil filing fee or submitted applications to proceed without prepaying fees. The court left the question of whether they could proceed without prepaying fees to the transferee court. The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.