Fields v. Bouria

Background

Marcus Brent Fields, who was incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California, filed this action without a lawyer under federal and state law. He sued Albert Bouria, identified as Pfizer’s chief executive officer, and unidentified scientists, chemists, physicists, and subordinates who appeared to be employed by Pfizer. Fields alleged that he was injured after receiving a “tainted” Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine dose at the correctional facility on March 4, 2021.

The court had previously granted Fields permission to proceed without paying filing fees. The opinion states that Fields alleged he was a California citizen and alleged that Bouria was a New York citizen, although the address he provided for Bouria was Pfizer’s world headquarters in New York. Fields did not allege where the unidentified defendants lived.

Venue and Transfer

The court explained that federal law permits a civil action to be filed where a defendant resides or where a substantial part of the events occurred. It concluded that the Southern District of New York could be a proper venue if the case were understood as asserting claims against Bouria or Pfizer, because the relevant New York residence or business location was in that district. The Southern District of California was also a proper venue because the alleged injection occurred at the correctional facility in San Diego County.

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), a federal court may transfer a case to another federal district where it could have been brought when the transfer would serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and the interests of justice. The court considered the circumstances and found that transfer was appropriate. The underlying events occurred in San Diego, where Fields was incarcerated, and the court expected that relevant witnesses and documents would also be located there.

Ruling

Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. The court deferred to the California court on all pending motions and other requests, directed that no summons issue from the New York court, and closed the action in that court. It also directed the Clerk to terminate the pending motions on the New York docket so that they could be decided by the transferee court.

The court certified that any appeal from the transfer order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order transferred the case; it did not decide the underlying claims about the vaccine.