Debbs v. Dignity Health Hospital ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 EURAL DEBBS, SR., No. 2:22–cv–0284–KJM–KJN PS 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 DIGNITY HEALTH HOSPITAL, 15 Defendant. 16 17 On February 14, 2022, plaintiff (who is proceeding without counsel) filed this action 18 alleging racial discrimination in the care he received at the defendant hospital. (ECF No. 1.) 19 Plaintiff also requested leave to proceed in forma pauperis. (ECF No. 2.) For the following 20 reasons, the court concludes that the case was mistakenly filed in the Sacramento division of the 21 Eastern District of California, and therefore transfers the action to the Fresno division.1 22 The court’s Local Rules provide that “[a]ll civil and criminal actions and proceedings of 23 every nature and kind cognizable in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of 24 California arising in Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, 25 1 Because this order does not affect the viability of any claim or defense in this action, it is a nondispositive order within the undersigned’s authority to issue, even without consent to 26 magistrate jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A); In re U.S. Dep’t of Educ., 25 F.4th 692, 27 699 (9th Cir. 2022) (order that “merely transfer[s] the action to another federal court and [does] not affect the viability of a claim or defense” is nondispositive order within magistrate judge’s 28 jurisdiction). 1 |} Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolomne counties shall be commenced in the United States District 2 | Court sitting in Fresno, California... .” E.D. Cal. L.R. 120(d) (emphasis added). Local 3 || Rule 120(f) permits the court, on its own motion or motion of any party, to transfer the action to 4 || another venue within the district if “the action has not been commenced in the proper court in 5 || accordance with this Rule, or for other good cause.” E.D. Cal. L.R. 120(f). 6 Because plaintiff is complaining of care received in a Bakersfield hospital and provides 7 || Bakersfield addresses for himself and the defendant hospital, it is clear that this action arises in 8 | Bakersfield—which is located within Kern County. Actions arising in Kern County must be 9 | commenced in the Fresno division, not the Sacramento division, of the Eastern District of 10 | California. See E.D. Cal. L-.R. 120(d). Therefore, the action is now being transferred to the 11 || Fresno division of the court. 12 Good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 13 1. The action, including the pending motion to proceed in forma pauperis, is 14 TRANSFERRED to the Fresno division of this district pursuant to Local Rule 120(f); 15 a. Because the defendant is located in Kern County, the Clerk of Court is 16 instructed to directly assign the case to the Magistrate Judge sitting in 17 Bakersfield, as provided in Local Rules Appendix A, Sub (/)(4). 18 2. All future filings in this case shall reference the new Fresno case number assigned and 19 shall be filed at: 20 United States District Court Eastern District of California 21 2500 Tulare Street Fresno, CA 93721 22 23 Dated: March 25, 2022 24 py 25 Pec Ahern KENDALL 96 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 27 28 || debb.0284