Buckner v. City of New York

Background

Shatasia C. Buckner, proceeding without a lawyer, brought an action concerning alleged violations of her rights in connection with orders issued by courts in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and enforced by the Ashley Borough Police Department. The defendants named in the complaint were the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Ashley Borough Police Department, and the Luzerne County Family Court. The court noted that Buckner did not name the City of New York in the complaint’s caption, although she listed it as a defendant in her application to proceed without prepaying fees.

Venue analysis

The court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1391, the federal venue statute. It found that Buckner did not allege that a substantial part of the events occurred in the Southern District of New York. It also found that venue was not proper there based on the defendants’ residences because the Pennsylvania defendants were located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Even if Buckner intended to name the City of New York as a defendant, the court said venue still would not be proper under that provision because all defendants did not reside in the same state.

Transfer and litigation history

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), a court may dismiss a case filed in the wrong venue or, when the interests of justice favor it, transfer the case to a district where it could have been brought. The court concluded that the claims arose in Luzerne County, which is in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and transferred the action there. The opinion states that Buckner had previously filed two other actions in the Southern District of New York concerning events primarily occurring in Luzerne County and that those actions were also transferred to the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Ruling

The court directed the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. It stated that the transferee court would decide whether Buckner could continue without prepaying fees, directed that no summons issue from the Southern District of New York, and closed the case in that court. The court warned that continued filings there concerning events in Pennsylvania could result in an order requiring Buckner to show cause why she should not be barred from filing new actions about those events without prior permission. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), the court also denied fee-waiver status for an appeal because it certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.