Muminovic v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Background

Ing. Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Elhar Muminovic, who resides in Linz, Austria, filed this action without a lawyer against Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. The opinion says that he appeared to seek monetary damages and declaratory relief. Muminovic alleged that Blizzard resides in Irvine, Orange County, California.

Venue analysis

Federal venue rules generally allow a civil case to be filed where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the relevant events occurred, or, when no other district qualifies, where a defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction. The court concluded that Muminovic did not allege that Blizzard resides in the Southern District of New York or that substantial events giving rise to his claims occurred there. Venue was therefore not proper in that district.

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406, when a case is filed in the wrong venue, the court may dismiss it or, in the interest of justice, transfer it to a district where it could have been filed. Because Irvine is within the Central District of California, the court concluded that venue was proper there under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(1).

Disposition

Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The order closed the action in the Southern District of New York; it did not decide the underlying claims. The transferee court will decide whether Muminovic may proceed without prepaying filing fees. The court also ordered that a summons would not issue from the Southern District of New York and denied fee-free status for an appeal after certifying that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.