Wright v. Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co.

Background

Jethro Wright filed this action without a lawyer, invoking diversity jurisdiction. He sued Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. as Trustee for Mortgage Assets Management Series I Trust; William Keohler, Esq.; and an unidentified John Doe defendant. His claims arose from the defendants’ alleged efforts to end his ownership of real property on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. He sought more than $75,000 in compensatory damages, punitive damages, and other relief.

Venue analysis

The court explained that federal law generally permits a civil action to be filed where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred or the property is located, or, in limited circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction. Wright alleged that the bank resided in New York and that Keohler resided in South Carolina, but he did not allege where John Doe resided. The court therefore found that he had not shown venue was proper in the Southern District of New York under the residence-based provision.

Wright alleged that the events supporting his claims occurred in Beaufort County, South Carolina, and that the property was there. The court concluded that New York was not a proper venue under the property-and-events provision, while the District of South Carolina was a proper venue.

Ruling

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), a court may transfer a case filed in the wrong venue when transferring it serves the interests of justice. The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. It directed the clerk to make the transfer, stated that summonses would not issue from the New York court, and closed the action in that court. The receiving court would decide whether Wright could proceed without prepaying filing fees. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal from the order.