Bibb v. ATT Corporation
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-08590
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Bibb v. AT&T Corp., Judge McMahon transferred the pro se lawsuit to Ohio because New York was not the proper or convenient venue.
Ronald Dwayne Bibb and the defendants—AT&T Corp., Caldwell Banker, Enterprise Rent a Car, and Franklin Federal—are affected by the transfer of the action from the Southern District of New York to the Southern District of Ohio.
What happened
In Bibb v. AT&T Corp., Ronald Dwayne Bibb sued AT&T Corp., Caldwell Banker, Enterprise Rent a Car, and Franklin Federal, alleging violations of his constitutional rights.
Bibb said that some events occurred in Columbus, Ohio, where he resides. The court found that he had not shown that the defendants resided in New York or that a substantial part of the events occurred there.
Judge McMahon ordered the case transferred to the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, and directed that Bibb’s $50 payment be refunded. The court also denied him permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Bibb v. ATT Corporation · No. 1:20-cv-08590
- Colleen McMahon
- Dec. 8, 2020
Background
Ronald Dwayne Bibb, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a federal-question action against AT&T Corp., Caldwell Banker, Enterprise Rent a Car, and Franklin Federal. He alleged that the defendants violated his rights under the First, Second, and Fourteenth Amendments. The complaint described events spanning many years, including events involving medical treatment and housing in Columbus, Ohio; a 2018 car-rental billing dispute with Enterprise; a probate matter involving Franklin Federal Bank in Ohio; and other incidents.
The court had previously allowed Bibb to proceed without prepaying filing fees. He submitted a $50 money order with his complaint.
Venue analysis
Federal venue rules generally allow a civil action to proceed in a district where all defendants reside, 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 said it was unclear where all of the events occurred, but at least some occurred in Columbus, Ohio, in Franklin County. Bibb listed addresses for the defendants in Georgia, New Jersey, Missouri, and Virginia. 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. The court therefore said venue did not appear proper in New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(1) or (2).
The court also considered transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), which permits a court to move a case for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. It concluded that transfer was appropriate because at least some underlying events occurred in Columbus, where Bibb resides, and because Columbus is in Franklin County, within the Eastern Division of the Southern District of Ohio. The court stated that venue was proper there.
Disposition
The court directed the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division. It directed the Clerk to mail Bibb a copy of the order, issue him a check refunding the $50 payment, and note service on the docket. A summons was not to issue from the Southern District of New York, and the order closed the case in that court. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Bibb permission to appeal without paying fees.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.