Greene v. U.S District Court-Northern District of California
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-02278
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Greene v. U.S. District Court—Northern District of California: Judge Swain transferred the case to California because venue was improper in New York.
Cedric Greene’s case was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The receiving court will decide whether he may proceed without prepaying fees.
What happened
In Greene v. U.S. District Court—Northern District of California, Cedric Greene, representing himself, sued the United States District Court for the Northern District of California over alleged misconduct concerning an action he filed there.
The court concluded that the events described in Greene’s complaint occurred in the Northern District of California, making venue improper in the Southern District of New York. Rather than dismissing the case, the court transferred it to the Northern District of California in the interest of justice.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the transfer, closed the case in the Southern District of New York, and left any decision about proceeding without paying filing fees to the receiving court. She also warned Greene that future frivolous or abusive lawsuits could lead to filing restrictions and denied fee-free status for an appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Greene v. U.S District Court-Northern District of California · No. 1:24-cv-02278
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 27, 2024
Background
Cedric Greene, who the opinion says lives in Los Angeles, California, filed this self-represented action against the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He alleged misconduct concerning an action he had filed in that court. The opinion does not identify any individual defendants.
Venue analysis
The court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1391, the federal venue statute. It found that Greene alleged the events underlying his claims occurred in the Northern District of California. Because a substantial part of the events occurred there, the court concluded that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), when a case is filed in the wrong venue, a court may dismiss it or, when justice favors that result, transfer it to a district where it could have been brought. The court determined that Greene’s claims arose in the Northern District of California and that transfer was appropriate.
Additional warnings and ruling
The court discussed an earlier Court of Federal Claims proceeding, identified as No. 23-CV-1821, in which the court stated that Greene had filed more than three hundred cases in federal courts and had been barred from proceeding without paying the filing fee in that proceeding because of alleged abuse of the judicial system. The court also referred to earlier federal lawsuits involving lost birthday cards or other mail and stated that one resulted in a sanction for vexatious litigation.
The court warned Greene that filing frivolous, vexatious, or nonmeritorious litigation in the Southern District of New York could result in an order requiring him to obtain permission before filing new actions there. It directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the Northern District of California, stated that no summons would issue from the Southern District of New York, and closed the case in that court. The transferee court was left to decide whether Greene could proceed without prepaying fees. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California under 28 U.S.C. § 1406. The order addressed venue and did not decide the merits of Greene’s allegations.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.