Estate of Edward R. McCardle Sr. v. Purdue Pharma
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-11000
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Estate of Edward R. McCardle Sr. v. Purdue Pharma, Judge McMahon transferred the wrongful-death case to New Mexico because New York was not a proper venue.
Marjorie L. Schultz and the estate of Edward R. McCardle Sr., whose action was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the District of New Mexico; the defendant is also affected because the case will proceed, if at all, in the transferee court.
What happened
Estate of Edward R. McCardle Sr. v. Purdue Pharma concerns Marjorie L. Schultz’s claim as the personal representative of her deceased father’s estate. Proceeding without a lawyer, Schultz alleged that her father’s death resulted from the toxic effects of fentanyl and other drugs, and sought $500,000 for wrongful death and loss of property.
The court found that the Southern District of New York was not a proper place for the case because Schultz did not allege that the defendant was located there or that a substantial part of the events occurred there. It found that the District of New Mexico was a proper venue because Schultz alleged that McCardle lived and died in New Mexico.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the case transferred to the District of New Mexico under the federal venue-transfer law. The New York court directed the clerk to send the order to Schultz, stated that no summons would issue there, closed the case in that court, and denied fee-free appeal status. The order did not decide whether Schultz’s claims were legally valid.
The detailed version
- Estate of Edward R. McCardle Sr. v. Purdue Pharma · No. 1:20-cv-11000
- Colleen McMahon
- Feb. 10, 2021
Background
Marjorie L. Schultz filed the action without a lawyer as the personal representative of the estate of her deceased father, Edward R. McCardle Sr. The complaint names the defendant as “Purdue Pharma et. al claim #61658,” but does not provide a mailing address or explain how or where that defendant is organized. Schultz alleged that McCardle died on November 4, 2017, because of the “toxic effects of fentanyl” and other drugs. She invoked federal-question jurisdiction, asserted wrongful-death claims, and sought $500,000 for “loss of life and property.”
The court had previously granted Schultz permission to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court also directed the clerk to restrict electronic access to the complaint because attached documents included McCardle’s complete date of birth and Social Security number.
Venue Analysis
Federal law permits a civil action to be filed in certain districts, including a district where a defendant resides or where a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claims occurred. The court concluded that the Southern District of New York was not a proper venue because Schultz did not allege that the defendant resided there or that a substantial part of the relevant events occurred there.
The court concluded that the District of New Mexico was a proper venue because Schultz alleged that McCardle resided and died in New Mexico. The court therefore transferred the action under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), which permits transfer when a case is filed in an improper venue.
Disposition
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. The order also directed the clerk to mail Schultz a copy of the order and note service on the docket. The court stated that a summons would not issue from the Southern District of New York and that the order closed the case there.
The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Schultz permission to appeal without paying filing costs. The opinion transferred the case based on venue; it did not decide the merits of the wrongful-death claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.