Joyner v. Schuylkill Prison ( 2022 )

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF UTAH MICHAEL ERNEST LEE JOYNER SR., Plaintiff, MEMORANDUM DECISION AND TRANSFER ORDER v. SCHUYLKILL PRISON et al., Case No. 2:22-CV-394-TC District Judge Tena Campbell Defendants. Using a Utah address for himself, Plaintiff brings this prisoner civil-rights action against Defendants Frackville Police Department, "Frackville state troopers," and Schuylkill Prison. (ECF No. 5.) He alleges that, in August 2021, the law enforcement defendants arrested him for a crime he did not commit. (Id.) He was then "wrongfully" imprisoned at Defendant Schuylkill Prison. (Id.) Federal statute provides that a civil case may be filed in “(1) a judicial district in which any defendant resides, if all defendants are residents of the State in which the district is located; [or] (2) a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred.” 28 U.S.C.S. § 1391(b) (2022). "The plaintiff's domicile doesn't factor into the venue analysis." Mosier v. Farren, 731 F. App'x 808, 811 n.4 (10th Cir. 2018) (unpublished). The only connection to Utah in this case is Plaintiff's address at the time of filing. Defendants are all in Pennsylvania and "the events or omissions giving rise to the claim[s]" occurred in Pennsylvania. More specifically, it appears Defendants and the "events or omissions" were located in Pennsylvania's Middle District. “For the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice, a district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where it might have been brought . . 28 US.CS. § 1404(a) (2022). IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that this action is TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. DATED this 20th day of December, 2022. BY THE COURT: United States District Judge