Chirse v. Macklin

Background

Devante Chirse, who was incarcerated at Southport Correctional Facility in Pine City, New York, filed this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that the defendants violated his federal constitutional rights. The opinion does not describe the underlying alleged violations in greater detail.

Venue analysis

Venue is the legally proper federal district for a case. The court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), which generally permits a civil action to be filed where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, if neither applies, where a defendant is subject to the court’s authority for the case.

The court concluded that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York because Chirse did not allege that any defendant resided there or that a substantial part of the events or omissions occurred there. Chirse alleged that the events occurred at Southport. The court determined that Southport is in Chemung County, which lies in the Western District of New York.

Ruling

Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). The order closed the case in the Southern District of New York. It also stated that the receiving court would decide whether Chirse could proceed without prepaying fees, directed that no summons issue from the Southern District of New York, and denied fee-free status for an appeal because the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The opinion does not decide the merits of Chirse’s constitutional-rights allegations.