Jones v. ACS/ Queens Field office
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-06166
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Jones v. ACS/Queens Field Office, Chief Judge Swain transferred the case to the Eastern District of New York because Queens was the more convenient venue.
The transfer affects plaintiffs Alysia Davina Jones and Pierre Merlin Kamtchi and defendants ACS/Queens Field Office and Alethea Stowe. The case will proceed, if permitted by the receiving court, in the Eastern District of New York rather than the Southern District of New York.
What happened
In Jones v. ACS/Queens Field Office, Alysia Davina Jones and Pierre Merlin Kamtchi, representing themselves, alleged that the ACS/Queens Field Office and Alethea Stowe violated their federally protected rights in connection with Family Court proceedings in Queens County.
The court found that Queens County was in the Eastern District of New York and that the case could properly be heard there because the events occurred there. It also concluded that Queens appeared to be more convenient for the parties, witnesses, and documents, so it transferred the case to that district.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Clerk to transfer the action and closed the case in the Southern District of New York. The court also said this court would not issue a summons, left any decision about proceeding without paying filing fees to the receiving court, and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Jones v. ACS/ Queens Field office · No. 1:23-cv-06166
- Laura Swain
- July 19, 2023
Background
Alysia Davina Jones and Pierre Merlin Kamtchi filed this self-represented action under the court’s federal-question jurisdiction. They alleged that the ACS/Queens Field Office and ACS caseworker Alethea Stowe violated federally protected rights in Queens County in connection with Family Court proceedings. The plaintiffs were identified as residing in Flushing, Queens. The defendants were identified as being located in Jamaica, Queens.
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, in limited circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction. The plaintiffs did not state where the defendants resided. The court therefore found it unclear whether venue—the proper federal district for the case—was established in the Southern District of New York or the Eastern District of New York based on the defendants’ residence.
The court nevertheless determined that venue was proper in the Eastern District of New York because the alleged events occurred in Queens County, which lies in that district. The court also applied the federal transfer rule, which allows a court to move a case to another proper district for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. It concluded that transfer was appropriate because the underlying events occurred in Queens and the relevant documents and witnesses could reasonably be expected to be there. The court stated that the Eastern District appeared to be the more convenient forum.
Ruling and disposition
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). The order closed the case in the Southern District of New York. It stated that the receiving court would decide whether the plaintiffs could proceed without prepaying filing fees, and it directed that no summons issue from the Southern District of New York. 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 whether the plaintiffs’ underlying rights claims were valid.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.