Desinor v. Previl
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-03847
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Desinor v. Previl, Chief Judge Swain transferred the excessive-force case to the Eastern District of New York.
Vendrix Desinor and the defendant officers named in the action; the case was moved from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York.
What happened
In Desinor v. Previl, Vendrix Desinor, representing himself, alleged that officers used excessive force against him in Brooklyn, New York.
The court said the Eastern District of New York was the proper and more convenient location because the events occurred there and the relevant witnesses and documents were likely there.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the case transferred to that district, closed the case in her court, and denied fee-free status for any appeal. The court did not decide whether the officers used excessive force.
The detailed version
- Desinor v. Previl · No. 1:24-cv-03847
- Laura Swain
- May 21, 2024
Background
Vendrix Desinor brought the case without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that Officer Previl, Officer Leon, Officer Amin, and three to four other unidentified officers from the District 30 M.T.A. Police/Transit Bureau Response Team used excessive force against him. The opinion states that Desinor resides in Brooklyn and that the alleged events occurred there.
Venue Analysis
The court explained that venue is generally proper where a substantial part of the events occurred or, in some circumstances, where the defendants reside. Because the alleged events occurred in Brooklyn, which is in Kings County and within the Eastern District of New York, venue was proper there. The court noted that it was unclear whether venue was also proper in the Southern District of New York because Desinor had not stated where the defendants lived.
The court also applied the transfer statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). That statute allows a court to transfer a case to another proper federal district for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. The court concluded that transfer was appropriate because the events occurred in Brooklyn and it was reasonable to expect that the relevant witnesses and documents would be located there.
Ruling
The court directed the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. It stated that the transferee court would decide whether Desinor could continue without paying filing fees. The court also directed that no summons issue from the Southern District of New York and stated that the order closed the case there. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the merits of Desinor’s excessive-force allegations.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.