Eustade v. Eustade
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-10890
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Eustade v. Eustade, Judge Swain transferred the action to the Eastern District of New York because the events occurred there.
Carl Eustade's action was moved from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York; the order concerns Joseph Eustade, Martha Louissaint, the Eustade family, and the Louissaint family as defendants.
What happened
In Eustade v. Eustade, Carl Eustade, representing himself, brought a federal-question action alleging that defendants violated his First Amendment rights during events at Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn. He alleged that he was drugged and misdiagnosed and that defendants sexually assaulted, tortured, harassed, and framed him.
The court explained that venue could be proper in the Eastern District of New York because Brookdale Hospital is in Brooklyn, although it was unclear whether venue was proper in the Southern District because the residences of several defendants were unknown. The court also found that the Eastern District appeared more convenient because the events occurred there and relevant witnesses and documents were expected to be in Brooklyn.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the case transferred to the Eastern District of New York under the federal transfer statute and directed the Clerk to close the case. The court also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for any appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Eustade v. Eustade · No. 1:22-cv-10890
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 31, 2023
Background
Carl Eustade brought this action without a lawyer under the court's federal-question jurisdiction. He named Joseph Eustade, Martha Louissaint, the Eustade family, and the Louissaint family as defendants. The opinion states that Eustade alleged violations of his First Amendment rights connected to events at Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn, including that he was drugged and misdiagnosed, sexually assaulted and tortured, and harassed and framed. The court had granted his request to proceed without prepaying filing fees.
Venue
The court considered the federal venue rules. Venue may be proper where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, in some circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court's authority. Eustade supplied an address for himself and Joseph Eustade but not for the other defendants. Because the alleged events occurred at Brookdale Hospital, which is in Kings County and therefore in the Eastern District of New York, the court concluded that venue would be proper there. The court said it was unclear whether venue was proper in the Southern District under the rule based on defendants' residences.
Transfer ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), a court may transfer a case to another district where it could have been brought for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. The court found transfer appropriate because the underlying events occurred at Brookdale Hospital, Eustade and Joseph Eustade reside in Brooklyn, and relevant documents and witnesses were reasonably expected to be there. The court therefore transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Disposition
The Clerk was directed to transfer the action, and the order states that the case was closed. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying allegations or First Amendment claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.