Glotser v. Boardwalk Regency, LLC

Background

Elena Glotser sued Boardwalk Regency LLC for negligence after she tripped and fell in a complimentary suite at Boardwalk’s Caesars Atlantic City hotel and casino. She alleged that the hotel provided slippers that were too large and failed to warn her about their danger. The fall occurred in New Jersey. Glotser received initial medical treatment at a nearby New Jersey hospital and later returned to New York.

Boardwalk moved for summary judgment, which asks the court to enter judgment without a trial when the moving party claims there is no genuine dispute requiring a trial. Boardwalk also moved to transfer the case from the Southern District of New York to the District of New Jersey. The parties agreed that the case could have been brought in New Jersey.

Transfer Analysis

The court applied the federal transfer statute, which permits transfer for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. It considered factors including witness convenience, party convenience, the location of evidence, where the events occurred, the ability to compel unwilling witnesses, the parties’ financial means, familiarity with governing law, Glotser’s choice of forum, and trial efficiency and the interests of justice.

The witness-convenience factor was neutral. The court treated Glotser and Boardwalk’s employee, Melbourne Pimenta, as party witnesses whose convenience generally receives less weight, and found that their locations balanced each other. The court also gave little weight to unidentified hospital witnesses, Glotser’s son, and treating physicians.

The party-convenience factor favored transfer. The hotel, casino, and alleged conduct were in New Jersey, while Glotser lived in New York. The court found that Glotser would not be substantially inconvenienced by litigating in New Jersey, noting her long history of traveling to the casino and her admission that she and her witnesses had the financial means to travel there.

The location of documents, the power to compel unwilling witnesses, and the parties’ relative financial means were neutral. The court found that the location of documents was largely neutral because modern technology makes documents easier to transfer, that neither party showed nonparty witnesses would refuse to appear voluntarily, and that the federal courthouse in Camden, New Jersey, was approximately 80 miles from the Southern District of New York courthouse.

The location of the operative facts strongly favored transfer because the alleged negligence, the hotel stay, the use of the slippers, and the fall all occurred in New Jersey. The governing-law factor also favored transfer because New Jersey had the greatest interest in the dispute and New Jersey law would likely apply. Glotser’s choice of New York received diminished weight because the operative facts had no connection to New York apart from her residence.

Trial efficiency did not weigh strongly against transfer. Although discovery had ended and Boardwalk had already filed its summary-judgment motion, Judge Cronan had had limited involvement with the case, and most pretrial work had been supervised by another judge. The court also concluded that the interests of justice strongly favored New Jersey and stated that it was not clear whether personal jurisdiction over Boardwalk existed in New York.

Disposition

The court granted Boardwalk’s motion to transfer the case to the District of New Jersey. Because the case would be heard in another district, the court did not reach the merits of Boardwalk’s summary-judgment motion and denied that motion without prejudice to refiling it in the District of New Jersey under the rules of the assigned judge. The clerk was directed to close the two listed docket entries and transfer the case.