Chirse v. Edgar

Background

DeVante Chirse, who was incarcerated at Southport Correctional Facility, brought this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that the defendants violated his federal constitutional rights at Southport. The caption identifies the defendants as J. Edgar and others.

Venue analysis

The court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1391, the federal venue statute. That statute generally permits a civil action to be filed where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, in certain circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction.

Chirse alleged that the defendants were all assigned to Southport and that the events underlying his claims occurred there. The court stated that he did not allege that any defendant resided in the Southern District of New York or that a substantial part of the relevant events occurred there. Southport is in Chemung County, which the court stated is in the Western District of New York. The court therefore concluded that venue was proper in the Western District under § 1391(b)(2).

Ruling

The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), which permits transfer when venue is improper. The court did not decide whether the alleged constitutional violations occurred or whether Chirse’s claims had merit.

The court directed the Clerk to mail the order to Chirse, record service on the docket, and transfer the action. It stated that the receiving court would decide whether Chirse could proceed without prepaying filing fees. No summons would issue from the Southern District, and the order closed that case. Judge Colleen McMahon certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.