ENTO v. THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 CHRISTIAN DAVID ENTO, Case No. 1:22-cv-01600-BAM (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER TRANSFERRING CASE TO THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY 13 v. 14 THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 Plaintiff Christian David Ento (“Plaintiff”), a county jail inmate proceeding pro se, has 17 filed a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, together with a motion to proceed in 18 forma pauperis. (ECF Nos. 1, 2.) 19 The federal venue statute requires that a civil action, other than one based on diversity 20 jurisdiction, be brought only in “(1) a judicial district where any defendant resides, if all 21 defendants are residents of the State in which the district is located, (2) a judicial district in which 22 a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part 23 of the property that is the subject of the action is situated, or (3) if there is no district in which an 24 action may otherwise be brought as provided in this section, any judicial district in which any 25 defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction with respect to such action.” 28 U.S.C. 26 § 1391(b). 27 /// 28 1 In this case, the defendants do not appear to reside in this district. While Plaintiff does not 2 allege where the claims arose, the only named defendants are the State of New Jersey and the 3 States of Arkansas and Nebraska. Plaintiff has not alleged that any of these defendants have any 4 connection to the Eastern District of California. Therefore, Plaintiff’s case is not properly filed in 5 the Eastern District of California, but it appears the claim could have been filed in the United 6 States District Court for the District of New Jersey. In the interest of justice, a federal court may 7 transfer a complaint filed in the wrong district to the correct district. See 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a); 8 Ravelo Monegro v. Rosa, 211 F.3d 509, 512 (9th Cir. 2000). 9 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this matter is transferred to the United 10 States District Court for the District of New Jersey. This Court has not ruled on Plaintiff’s 11 request to proceed in forma pauperis. 12 IT IS SO ORDERED. 13 14 Dated: December 15, 2022 /s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe _ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28