Thomas v. T. Mobile
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-00623
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Thomas v. T. Mobile, Judge Swain transferred Thomas’s data-breach case to Missouri because he did not respond to the transfer order.
Foster Lee Thomas and T-Mobile; the action was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Western District of Missouri.
What happened
In Thomas v. T. Mobile, Foster Lee Thomas filed the case without a lawyer, apparently trying to participate in a data-breach settlement involving T-Mobile. The court noted that related multi-district litigation was pending in the Western District of Missouri.
The court had ordered Thomas to explain why the case should not be transferred there. Thomas did not respond, so the court directed the Clerk to transfer the case to the Western District of Missouri, Western Division, under the federal transfer statute.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain closed the case in the Southern District of New York, ordered that no summons issue there, and left any decision about allowing Thomas to proceed without paying fees to the Missouri court. She also denied fee-free status for any appeal.
The detailed version
- Thomas v. T. Mobile · No. 1:23-cv-00623
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 17, 2023
Background
Foster Lee Thomas filed this action without a lawyer, apparently attempting to participate in a data-breach settlement involving T-Mobile. The court noted that related multi-district litigation was pending in the Western District of Missouri, Western Division: In Re: T-Mobile Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 4:21-MD-03019 (BCW) (W.D. Mo.).
Transfer Order
In an earlier order, the court directed Thomas to show cause—meaning to explain—why the action should not be transferred to the Western District of Missouri. The court stated that, if Thomas did not respond, it would transfer the case under 28 U.S.C. § 1404. Thomas did not respond.
Disposition
The court directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Western Division. The order closed the case in the Southern District of New York. It also stated that a summons would not issue from that court and that the transferee court would decide whether Thomas could proceed without prepaying fees. The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.