Fink v. Bishop
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-10533
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Fink v. Bishop, Chief Judge McMahon transferred Fink’s Rule 60(b) action to New Jersey because it challenged decisions from that court.
John W. Fink, whose action was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the District of New Jersey; the defendants were affected by the transfer.
What happened
John W. Fink, representing himself, brought Fink v. Bishop under Rule 60(b), asking for relief related to decisions in cases he had filed in the District of New Jersey.
The court explained that Rule 60(b) allows a court to set aside only its own orders and judgments. Because Fink’s request concerned decisions from the District of New Jersey, the court concluded that the action belonged there.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the case transferred to the District of New Jersey under federal venue law. The court closed the action, directed that no summons issue from that court, left any decision about proceeding without prepaying fees to the New Jersey court, and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Fink v. Bishop · No. 1:20-cv-10533
- Colleen McMahon
- Dec. 17, 2020
Background
John W. Fink, who was proceeding without a lawyer, filed this action against the listed defendants. He sought relief under Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure concerning decisions issued in actions he had filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Reasoning
The court relied on the rule that Rule 60(b) permits a district court to vacate only its own orders and judgments. Because Fink’s request concerned decisions issued by the District of New Jersey, the court concluded that the proper venue was that district rather than the Southern District of New York.
Ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), the court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. The clerk was directed to transfer the action, and the order stated that the action was closed. A summons was not to issue from the Southern District of New York. The court left the question whether Fink could proceed without prepaying fees to the transferee court. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.