Adrian Mitchum, as the Surviving Child of Decedent, Aron Mitchum Jr., Deceased v. Broadway Healthcare LLC d/b/a Broadway Manor Healthcare Center; and Midwest Geriatric Management, LLC

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma transferred this wrongful-death and negligence action to the Eastern District of Oklahoma under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). The court found that the relevant facility, witnesses, alleged injuries, and events were located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and that the Western District had little connection to the case. The court declined to dismiss the action under Rule 12(b)(6), concluding that the complaint could encompass care provided after the defendant’s licensing date and that an incorrect d/b/a designation could be corrected by amendment.

Holdings

1. The action should be transferred to the Eastern District of Oklahoma because the facility, relevant events, witnesses, medical providers, and likely discovery were located there, while the Western District had no meaningful connection to the claims.
2. Dismissal was unwarranted because a fair reading of the complaint indicated that at least some claims could arise from care provided after the pressure injury and leading up to the decedent's death.
3. Dismissal was unwarranted because the alleged d/b/a error could be remedied by a simple amendment.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the action should be transferred from the Western District of Oklahoma to the Eastern District of Oklahoma under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a).
2. Whether the complaint should be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6) because Broadway Healthcare allegedly was not licensed to operate the facility when the pressure injury occurred.
3. Whether the complaint should be dismissed because it used an allegedly incorrect d/b/a for Broadway Healthcare LLC.

Disposition

remanded