Bibb v. Malek and Malek Attys at Law
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-09594
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Bibb v. Malek, Judge McMahon transferred Bibb’s case to the Southern District of Ohio because venue was improper in New York.
Ronald Dwayne Bibb’s case was moved from the Southern District of New York to the Southern District of Ohio. The defendants were affected by the change in forum, but the order did not decide the underlying claims.
What happened
In Bibb v. Malek and Malek Attys at Law, Ronald Dwayne Bibb, representing himself, brought an action alleging that events underlying his claims occurred in Columbus, Ohio.
The court concluded that Bibb had not shown that all defendants lived in New York or that a substantial part of the events occurred in the Southern District of New York. It determined that the Southern District of Ohio was the proper federal court because the alleged events occurred there.
Judge Colleen McMahon transferred the action to the Southern District of Ohio under the federal venue statute. The order closed the New York case, left the decision about proceeding without prepaying fees to the receiving court, directed that no summons issue from New York, and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Bibb v. Malek and Malek Attys at Law · No. 1:20-cv-09594
- Colleen McMahon
- Dec. 15, 2020
Background
Ronald Dwayne Bibb brought the action without a lawyer. He alleged that the events underlying his claims occurred in Columbus, Ohio. The caption names Malek and Malek Attys at Law and other defendants. The opinion states that one defendant, N.B.C. News, was from New York, New York, but that Bibb did not allege that the other defendants lived in New York.
Venue analysis
Federal law generally permits a civil action to be filed where the defendants reside, where a substantial part of the relevant events occurred, or, in limited circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court’s authority. The court concluded that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York because Bibb did not allege that all remaining defendants resided in New York and did not allege that a substantial part of the events occurred in that district.
Because the alleged events occurred in Columbus, Ohio, the court determined that venue lay in the Southern District of Ohio. It transferred the action under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), which permits transfer when venue is improper.
Disposition
The court directed the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and to mail Bibb a copy of the order. It stated that the receiving court would decide whether Bibb could proceed without prepaying filing fees. The court also directed that no summons issue from the Southern District of New York and stated that the order closed that case. It certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the underlying legal claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.