Sarner v. NYPD 75pct

Background

Philip Sarner, who lives in Brooklyn, brought this action without a lawyer. He invoked federal-question jurisdiction and alleged that he was stopped at a red light in Brooklyn and arrested without probable cause. The named defendants were the NYPD 75th Precinct, the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, and two John Doe defendants whose identities were not specified.

Venue and Transfer

The court explained that federal law allows a civil case to proceed in a district 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 authority. Sarner did not allege where the defendants lived. He did allege that the events occurred in Brooklyn, which is in Kings County and therefore in the Eastern District of New York.

The court stated that venue was potentially proper in the Southern District of New York, but that venue was also proper in the Eastern District under the law governing where the events occurred. Applying the convenience and interests-of-justice factors for transferring a case, the court found that the Eastern District appeared more convenient because the underlying events occurred in Kings County and the relevant documents and witnesses were reasonably expected to be there.

Order

The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). The Clerk was directed to transfer the action, and the Southern District case was closed. The court stated that the receiving court would decide whether Sarner could proceed without prepaying filing fees, and it directed that no summons issue from the Southern District. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide whether Sarner’s arrest lacked probable cause.