Malave v. Price
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-03539
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Malave v. Price, Judge Swain transferred the action to the Eastern District because the events occurred in Queens County.
Rafaela A. Malave, Detective Ryan Price, and Judge Robert A. Schwartz. The action was moved from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York; the transferee court will decide whether Malave may proceed without prepaying fees.
What happened
In Malave v. Price, Rafaela A. Malave, representing herself, alleged that Detective Ryan Price and Judge Robert A. Schwartz were involved in an unlawful search of her home.
The Southern District of New York determined that the alleged events occurred in Queens County, which is in the Eastern District of New York. The court also found that Malave did not reside in the Southern District and that it was unclear whether either defendant did.
Judge Swain ordered the case transferred to the Eastern District of New York under the federal transfer law. The Southern District case was closed, no summons would issue there, and the transferee court would decide whether Malave could proceed without prepaying fees; the court also denied fee-free status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Malave v. Price · No. 1:24-cv-03539
- Laura Swain
- May 8, 2024
Background
Rafaela A. Malave brought this action without a lawyer against Detective Ryan Price, Badge #1458, and Judge Robert A. Schwartz. She alleged that a Nassau County police detective searched her home under an unlawful order issued in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Nassau County. The opinion states that the alleged search occurred on October 23, 2023, at Malave’s home in Sunnyside, Queens County, New York.
Venue and transfer
Venue rules determine the federal district where a civil action may be heard. The court explained that an action may generally be brought where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, in some circumstances, where a defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction. The court concluded that venue was not proper in the Southern District under the provision based on where the events occurred because Malave’s claims arose outside that district. The complaint also did not show that either defendant resided in the Southern District.
The court found that venue was proper in the Eastern District of New York because that is where Malave’s claims arose. It also determined that transfer was appropriate under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), which permits transfer for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. The court relied on the location of the events and the expectation that relevant documents and witnesses would also be located there.
Ruling and effect
The court ordered the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The order closed the case in the Southern District of New York, and a summons would not issue from that court. The transferee court would decide whether Malave could continue without prepaying filing fees. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.