McKenzie v. Chung
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-04760
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In McKenzie v. Chung, Judge Swain transferred the pro se plaintiff’s case from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York.
Kellyann McKenzie’s case was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York; Dr. Wai Yee Chung remains the defendant, and the receiving court will decide whether McKenzie may proceed without prepaying fees.
What happened
Kellyann McKenzie, who lives in Queens County, New York, sued Dr. Wai Yee Chung over alleged events in Nassau County, New York. McKenzie filed the case in the Southern District of New York and represented herself.
The court determined that the Eastern District of New York was a more convenient location because the events occurred in Nassau County, where Chung worked, and relevant witnesses and documents were likely located. McKenzie also lived in Queens County, which is in the Eastern District.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the case transferred to the Eastern District of New York under the federal transfer statute. The Southern District case was closed, and that court said the receiving court would decide whether McKenzie could continue without paying filing fees.
The detailed version
- McKenzie v. Chung · No. 1:23-cv-04760
- Laura Swain
- June 7, 2023
Background
Kellyann McKenzie brought this action without a lawyer against Dr. Wai Yee Chung. McKenzie resides in Queens County, New York, and alleged that Chung violated her rights in Nassau County, New York. McKenzie provided a work address for Chung in Nassau County.
Venue analysis
Venue is the legally proper federal district for a case. The court explained that federal law generally permits a civil action in a district where the defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, in certain circumstances, where the defendant is subject to the court’s authority.
McKenzie did not allege where Chung resides. Because the alleged events occurred in Nassau County, however, the court concluded that venue would be proper in the Eastern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2). The court also stated that, even if venue were proper in the Southern District under the defendant-residence provision, the Eastern District would still be an available venue based on the location of the events.
Transfer ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), a court may transfer a case to another district where it could have been brought when doing so would promote the convenience of the parties and witnesses and the interests of justice. The court found transfer appropriate because the underlying events occurred in Nassau County, Chung worked there, and relevant documents and witnesses were reasonably expected to be there. McKenzie’s choice of the Southern District received less weight because she did not live there and the operative events did not occur there.
The court ordered the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The court stated that the Eastern District would decide whether McKenzie could proceed without prepaying fees. The Southern District would not issue a summons, and the order closed the case there. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion did not decide the underlying allegations against Chung.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.