Joe v. FDNY

Background

Willie L. Joe, representing himself, brought the action under the court’s diversity-of-citizenship jurisdiction. He alleged that on November 1, 2013, an ambulance struck him while he was crossing a street in Brooklyn, New York, causing serious injuries. He named the New York City Fire Department and the City of New York, Kevin Simpkin, the ambulance driver, and Jane Doe, the driver of the vehicle that struck the ambulance. Joe currently resides in North Carolina.

The complaint also referred to an earlier lawyer, a doctor who allegedly would not testify, and a judge whom Joe described as biased. The opinion states that publicly available records did not show whether Joe had filed the earlier lawsuit in the Southern or Eastern Districts of New York; for purposes of this transfer order, the court assumed it had been filed in state court.

Venue and transfer

Federal venue law allows a civil action to be filed in certain districts, including where a substantial part of the events occurred. The court concluded that the allegations did not establish that the Southern District was a proper venue under that rule. Venue might have been proper there based on the City of New York’s location, but only if the two individual defendants also resided in New York State; the complaint did not provide enough information to establish that point.

The court then applied 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), which permits transfer to another federal district where the case could have been brought when transfer would be more convenient for the parties and witnesses and would serve the interests of justice. The court determined that transfer was appropriate because the underlying events occurred in Brooklyn, and it was reasonable to expect that relevant documents and witnesses would be in the Eastern District. Joe’s choice of the Southern District received less weight because he does not reside there and the events did not occur there.

Disposition

The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The Clerk was directed to transfer the action, no summons was to issue from the Southern District, and the order closed the Southern District case. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The transfer order did not decide whether Joe’s underlying injury claims were legally valid.