(PC) Aguilar v. George Hill Claims Co. ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 NICOLAS AGUILAR, No. 2:21-cv-1523 KJN P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 GEORGE HILL CLAIMS CO., et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, filed a civil rights action pursuant to 42 18 U.S.C. § 1983, together with an application to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 19 § 1915. 20 The federal venue statute provides that a civil action “may be brought in (1) a judicial 21 district in which any defendant resides, if all defendants are residents of the State in which the 22 district is located, (2) a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions 23 giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action 24 is situated, or (3) if there is no district in which an action may otherwise be brought as provided in 25 this action, any judicial district in which any defendant is subject to the court’s personal 26 jurisdiction with respect to such action.” 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). 27 While plaintiff’s complaint is not entirely clear, he affirmatively states the constitutional 28 violation occurred in Ontario, California. (ECF No. 1 at 1.) He appears to challenge 1 circumstances related to his initial arrest, and seeks money damages for injuries he sustained at 2 the time the officer stopped plaintiff. (ECF No. 1 at 3, 4.) 3 Plaintiff also makes vague references to incidents at Kern Valley State Prison. However, 4 if plaintiff seeks to bring a civil rights action against defendants employed at Kern Valley State 5 Prison, he must file a civil rights complaint in the Fresno Division of the Eastern District of 6 California, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, California, identify the specific prison staff involved in 7 such alleged constitutional violations, and set forth specific charging allegations as to each named 8 defendant. 9 In the instant complaint, plaintiff named himself in the defendants’ section of the case 10 caption, but also included the names Alexie Alysa and Northern Law Corporation, Woodland, 11 CA, in the case caption. (ECF No. 1 at 1.) Plaintiff did not name either Ms. Alysa or the 12 Northern Law Corporation as a defendant in the defendants’ section of the complaint.1 (ECF No. 13 1 at 2.) In addition, plaintiff included no charging allegations as to the Northern Law 14 Corporation. Rather, plaintiff appears to ask the court to send important documents to Alysa 15 Meyers Alexis, Northern Lawyers Corp., Woodland, CA. (ECF No. 1 at 14.) Plaintiff is advised 16 that unless counsel represents a party, the court will not serve documents on behalf of litigants 17 proceeding without counsel. 18 In this case, the claim arose in Ontario, San Bernardino County, which is in the Central 19 District of California. Therefore, plaintiff’s claim should have been filed in the United States 20 District Court for the Central District of California. In the interest of justice, a federal court may 21 transfer a complaint filed in the wrong district to the correct district. See 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a); 22 Starnes v. McGuire, 512 F.2d 918, 932 (D.C. Cir. 1974). 23 //// 24 //// 25 1 Rather, plaintiff lists his own name twice in the defendants’ section of the complaint, claiming the first defendant is employed as a garage mechanic at Kern Valley State Prison. (ECF No. 1 at 26 2.) No other names from the case caption are included in the defendants’ section. Plaintiff is 27 advised that if he chooses to file a civil rights complaint in the Fresno Division, the names set forth as defendants in the case caption must match those listed in the defendants’ section of the 28 complaint. Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(a). ] Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 2 1. The Clerk of the Court is directed to send plaintiff the form for filing a civil nghts 3 || complaint by a prisoner in the Fresno Division of the Eastern District; and 4 2. This matter is transferred to the United States District Court for the Central District of 5 || California. 6 || Dated: September 8, 2021 Foci) Aharon 8 KENDALL J. NE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 9 |) /aguils23.21 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28