Wesolek v. Erie County Holding Center
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-03521
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Wesolek v. Erie County Holding Center, Judge Swain transferred the constitutional-rights case to the Western District of New York for improper venue.
Justin Wesolek's case was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Western District of New York. The transferee court will decide whether he may proceed without prepaying fees.
What happened
In Wesolek v. Erie County Holding Center, Justin Wesolek, representing himself, alleged that his constitutional rights were violated while he was detained at the Erie County Holding Center in Buffalo, New York. He sued several defendants under a federal civil-rights law, including Governor Kathy Hochul and unidentified Erie County officials and departments.
The court concluded that the case was filed in the wrong federal district because the alleged events occurred in Buffalo. Buffalo is in the Western District of New York, where the case could have been brought.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the case to the Western District of New York. The case was closed in the Southern District of New York, and the court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees; the transferee court will decide whether Wesolek may proceed without prepaying fees in the case.
The detailed version
- Wesolek v. Erie County Holding Center · No. 1:24-cv-03521
- Laura Swain
- May 16, 2024
Background
Justin Wesolek, who is incarcerated at the Lakeview Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility, brought this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing claims against state or local officials for violations of constitutional rights. He alleged that his rights were violated during his detention at the Erie County Holding Center in Buffalo, New York.
The defendants named in the complaint were Governor Kathy Hochul; unidentified Erie County corrections and sheriff's officials; and unidentified personnel or departments associated with the Erie County Holding Center's maintenance, plumbing, dormitory, and health-and-safety operations.
Venue Analysis
The court considered the federal venue rules. Those rules generally allow a civil action to be filed where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, in limited circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court's authority.
Wesolek did not allege where the defendants lived. He alleged, however, that the events underlying his claims occurred in Buffalo, where all of the named defendants except Governor Hochul were employed. The court concluded from the complaint that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406, when a case is filed in the wrong venue, the court may dismiss it or, when justice requires, transfer it to a district where it could have been brought. Because the claims arose in Buffalo, and Buffalo is in Erie County within the Western District of New York, the court determined that venue was proper there.
Ruling
The court directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. It stated that the transferee court would decide whether Wesolek could proceed without prepaying fees. The Southern District court directed that summonses not issue from that court and closed the case there.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the transfer order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore 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.