Samura v. Figueroa
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:21-cv-01632
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Samura v. Figueroa, Judge McMahon transferred Mohamed Samura’s Fair Housing Act case to the Eastern District of New York for venue and convenience.
Mohamed Samura and the defendants—Maria Figueroa, Castleton Park Management, and Castleton Preservation LLC—were affected by the transfer of the action from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York.
What happened
In Samura v. Figueroa, Mohamed Samura, representing himself, alleged that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act by denying his housing application. The defendants offered his full-time student status as a nondiscriminatory reason for the denial.
The court found that the defendants and the events appeared to be connected to Staten Island, not the Southern District of New York. Because Staten Island is in Richmond County, which is in the Eastern District of New York, the court concluded that transfer served convenience and the interests of justice.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the case transferred to the Eastern District of New York and closed the case in the Southern District of New York. She also ruled that no summons would issue there, left any decision about proceeding without prepaying fees to the receiving court, and denied fee-free appeal status because an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Samura v. Figueroa · No. 1:21-cv-01632
- Colleen McMahon
- Mar. 2, 2021
Background
Mohamed Samura brought this action without a lawyer under the Fair Housing Act, a federal law that prohibits certain forms of housing discrimination. He alleged that the defendants denied his housing application. According to the opinion, the defendants offered Samura’s status as a full-time student at the College of Staten Island as a nondiscriminatory reason for the denial.
Samura stated that he currently lived in Brooklyn and listed addresses for himself in Staten Island and Jordanville. He listed addresses for the defendants in Staten Island.
Venue and Transfer
The court explained that federal venue generally is proper where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, in limited circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction. The court stated that Samura had not alleged that the defendants resided in the Southern District of New York or that a substantial part of the events occurred there. Venue therefore did not appear proper in that district under the relevant venue provisions.
The court also considered transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), which permits transfer for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. It noted that courts may order transfer on their own initiative and may consider factors including the location of the events, the convenience of the parties and witnesses, access to evidence, the plaintiff’s choice of forum, trial efficiency, and the overall interests of justice.
The court concluded that transfer was appropriate because the underlying events occurred in Staten Island and the defendants appeared to reside there. Staten Island is in Richmond County, which the court stated falls within the Eastern District of New York. The court therefore concluded that venue was proper in the Eastern District of New York and that the total circumstances favored transfer.
Order
The court directed the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York and mail Samura a copy of the order. It directed that no summons issue from the Southern District of New York and stated that the order closed the case there. The court left to the transferee court the question whether Samura could proceed without prepaying fees. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal. The order did not decide whether the alleged housing-law violation occurred.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.