O'Connor v. Long Island Railroad Company
- Rochon
- 1:22-cv-06908
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In O'Connor v. Long Island Railroad, Judge Rochon transferred the Federal Employers’ Liability Act case to the Eastern District of New York.
Thomas O’Connor and Long Island Railroad Company; the case will proceed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
What happened
In O'Connor v. Long Island Railroad Company, Thomas O’Connor sued the Long Island Railroad Company under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act after a personal injury at a train station. The court held an initial conference with both sides’ lawyers.
The court found that the Eastern District of New York was more closely connected to the case: O’Connor lived and worked there, the injury occurred there, and the railroad operated there. O’Connor’s lawyer also acknowledged that the Southern District had little connection to the dispute, while the railroad took no position on the transfer.
Judge Jennifer L. Rochon ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the case to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under the federal law allowing transfers for convenience and the interests of justice.
The detailed version
- O'Connor v. Long Island Railroad Company · No. 1:22-cv-06908
- Rochon
- Dec. 1, 2022
Background
Thomas O’Connor brought one claim against Long Island Railroad Company under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, a federal law concerning railroad-worker injuries. The opinion states that the case involved a personal injury at a train station in the Eastern District of New York. Both parties’ lawyers appeared at an initial conference on December 1, 2022.
Transfer Analysis
The court considered federal venue rules and the statute allowing a court to transfer a case to another district where it could have been filed when the transfer would promote convenience and the interests of justice. The court evaluated the parties’ and witnesses’ convenience, the location of relevant evidence, the place where the events occurred, and other related factors.
The court found that the factors favored the Eastern District of New York. O’Connor resided and worked there, the injury occurred at a train station there, and the railroad operated its railroad system there. The court gave less weight to O’Connor’s choice of the Southern District because he did not reside there. The railroad also conducted business in both districts, but the court noted that the Southern District’s only identified connection to this case was the railroad’s unrelated business at Pennsylvania Station. O’Connor’s lawyer conceded that there was not a strong connection to the Southern District, and the railroad took no position on venue.
Disposition
The court ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The opinion addresses venue and convenience, not whether O’Connor or the railroad would prevail on the Federal Employers’ Liability Act claim.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.