Neighbors v. Winkle, No. 1:2013cv00395 - Document 3 (E.D. Tex. 2013)

Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION regarding transfer. Ordered that this civil rights action is transferred to the Fort Worth Division of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Signed by Magistrate Judge Keith F. Giblin on 7/2/2013. (bjc)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS BEAUMONT DIVISION NATHAN DARRELL NEIGHBORS § VS. § CAROLYN VAN WINKLE § CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:13-CV-395 MEMORANDUM OPINION REGARDING TRANSFER Plaintiff Nathan Darrell Neighbors, an inmate confined at the Stiles Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division, proceeding pro se, brings this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Carolyn Van Winkle. Plaintiff alleges the defendant is employed by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner. The lawsuit was referred to the undersigned United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636 and the Amended Order for the Adoption of Local Rules for the Assignment of Duties to United States Magistrates. Discussion The Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, et seq., under which this case is brought, does not contain a specific venue provision. Accordingly, venue in civil rights cases is controlled by 28 U.S.C. § 1391. Jones v. Bailey, 58 F.R.D. 453 (N.D. Ga. 1972); aff d per curiam, 480 F.2d 805 (5th Cir. 1973). When, as in this case, jurisdiction is not founded solely on diversity of citizenship, § 1391 provides that venue is proper only in the judicial district where the defendants reside or in which the claim arose. However, under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), for the convenience of parties and witnesses and 1 in the interest of justice, a district court may transfer any civil action to any other district where it could have been brought. Such a transfer may be done sua sponte and is reviewable only for an abuse of discretion. Mills v. Beech Aircraft Corp., 886 F.2d 758, 761 (5th Cir. 1989). Plaintiff complains of events that allegedly occurred in Tarrant County, Texas. The events that form the basis of the complaint did not occur within the Eastern District of Texas, nor does the defendant reside here. As a result, the Eastern District of Texas is not the proper venue for this action. The court has considered the circumstances and has determined that the interests of justice would be served by transferring the case to the district where the claims arose. It is accordingly ORDERED that this civil rights action is TRANSFERRED to the Fort Worth Division of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Hello This is a Test SIGNED this 2 day of July , 2013. ___________________________________ KEITH F. GIBLIN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 2

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