Pittman v. State of Georgia
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-02892
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Pittman v. State of Georgia, Judge Swain transferred the action from New York to Georgia because venue was improper.
Nadira A. Pittman and the State of Georgia; the case will proceed, if permitted, in the Northern District of Georgia rather than the Southern District of New York.
What happened
In Pittman v. State of Georgia, Nadira A. Pittman, representing herself, sued the State of Georgia over alleged violations of her federal rights by officials in Clayton County, Georgia. The opinion says Pittman resides in Queens County, New York.
The court found that the claims arose in Clayton County and that the case did not properly belong in the Southern District of New York. Rather than dismissing the case, it transferred the action to the Northern District of Georgia in the interest of justice.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Clerk to transfer the action, stated that the case was closed in the Southern District of New York, and left any decision about proceeding without paying filing fees to the receiving court. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Pittman v. State of Georgia · No. 1:24-cv-02892
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 18, 2024
Background
Nadira A. Pittman, proceeding without a lawyer, sued the State of Georgia. She alleged that government officials in Clayton County violated her federal rights at locations she identified in her complaint. The opinion states that Pittman resides in Queens County, New York.
Venue analysis
Venue is the proper geographic federal court location for a civil case. The court applied the general venue statute, which allows a case in certain districts connected to the defendants or to the events underlying the claims. The court concluded from the complaint that Pittman’s claims arose outside the Southern District of New York and involved parties that did not reside there. Venue therefore was not proper in that district.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), when a case is filed in the wrong venue, a court may dismiss it or, when the interests of justice support that result, transfer it to a district where it could have been brought. The court determined that Clayton County is in the Northern District of Georgia and that venue lies there.
Ruling
The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). The Clerk was directed to carry out the transfer. The court said that the receiving court would decide whether Pittman could proceed without paying filing fees, and it directed that no summons issue from the Southern District of New York. The order closed the case in that court. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.