Jones v. Fox Rothschild LLP
- Alvin Hellerstein
- 1:19-cv-11573
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Jones v. Fox Rothschild LLP, Judge Hellerstein transferred the employment-discrimination case to New Jersey because New York was not a substantially connected venue.
Stephanie Jones's employment-discrimination case was moved from the Southern District of New York to the District of New Jersey. Fox Rothschild LLP and Ian W. Siminoff will defend the case in the transferee court; the opinion did not decide the underlying claims.
What happened
In Jones v. Fox Rothschild LLP, Stephanie Jones alleged that Fox Rothschild LLP and Ian W. Siminoff harassed and discriminated against her based on sex. The defendants asked the court to dismiss the case for improper venue or transfer it to New Jersey.
The court concluded that most of the alleged events occurred in New Jersey, including the alleged harassment, attempted assault, complaints to firm staff, and the relevant workplace conduct. The complaint mentioned New York mainly because the firm had a New York office and some text messages were sent from there, which was not enough to make New York a proper venue.
Judge Hellerstein transferred the case to the District of New Jersey under federal venue law, terminated the pending motions, and closed the case in the Southern District of New York. The opinion did not decide whether the alleged discrimination or harassment occurred or whether the defendants were legally responsible.
The detailed version
- Jones v. Fox Rothschild LLP · No. 1:19-cv-11573
- Alvin Hellerstein
- May 18, 2020
Background
Stephanie Jones brought an employment-discrimination action against Fox Rothschild LLP and Ian W. Siminoff. She alleged that Siminoff sexually harassed her and that Fox Rothschild administrators did not adequately respond to her complaints. The claims principally relied on federal, New York State, and New York City civil-rights and human-rights laws.
The defendants separately moved either to dismiss the case for improper venue under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3) or to transfer it to the District of New Jersey. The court stated that the dispute had no significant ties to the Southern District of New York.
Venue analysis
Federal law permits a civil action to be filed in a district where a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claims occurred. The plaintiff bears the burden of showing that the chosen venue is proper. If venue is improper, the court may dismiss the case or, in the interest of justice, transfer it to a district where the case could have been brought.
The court reviewed the allegations and found that they overwhelmingly concerned New Jersey. Jones allegedly worked for Fox Rothschild's predecessor and then Fox Rothschild in New Jersey. The complaint placed alleged sexually explicit comments, a complaint to a firm administrator, an alleged attempted assault, and another alleged harassment incident in New Jersey. The complaint referred to New York only to identify a Fox Rothschild office and to state that some inappropriate text messages were sent while Siminoff was working from that office.
The court also considered a declaration Jones submitted in response to the motions. It found that the declaration's additional allegations about working in New York were contradicted by documentary evidence or were too vague and conclusory to change the venue analysis. The court concluded that the New York-related text messages did not constitute a substantial part of the events underlying the claims.
Ruling
Judge Hellerstein transferred the case to the District of New Jersey under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). The court also noted that the New Jersey location of relevant people and documents supported transfer for the convenience of the parties and witnesses. The Clerk was directed to execute the transfer, terminate the pending motions, and mark the Southern District of New York case closed. The opinion did not resolve the merits of Jones's discrimination and harassment claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.