Angela Perez Dowling v. State Prosecutors OFFFICE OF TEXAS

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York transferred Angela Perez Dowling’s pro se action to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) because the alleged events occurred in Texas and venue was improper in New York. The court directed the clerk to transfer the case, declined to issue a summons, and certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.

Holdings

1. The Southern District of New York was not a proper venue because the respondent appeared to reside in Texas and the alleged events occurred in Texas, not in the Southern District of New York.
2. When an action is filed in the wrong venue, the court may transfer it under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) to a district where it could have been brought if transfer is in the interest of justice; transfer to the Southern District of Texas was warranted here.

Questions Presented

1. Whether venue was proper in the Southern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b).
2. Whether the action should be transferred to the Southern District of Texas under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) because the action was filed in the wrong venue.

Disposition

transferred