Brown v. Medical Staff at Core Civic

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE

AT KNOXVILLE

JOSHUA BROWN, )

)

Plaintiff, )

)

v. ) No. 3:21-CV-098-KAC-DCP

)

MEDICAL STAFF AT CORE CIVIC, )

)

Defendant. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Plaintiff, a prisoner of the Tennessee Department of Correction incarcerated in the

Trousdale Turner Correctional Center (“TTCC”), mailed an unsigned pro se complaint to the Clerk

of Court that appears to allege a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 [Doc. 1]. In response to a notice of

deficiency from the Court [Doc. 2], he also filed a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis

[Doc. 4]. Plaintiff asserts that Defendant “Medical Staff at Core Civic” in the TTCC initially

denied him medical care for his jaw following a fight on an unspecified date [Doc. 1 at 1].

A civil action in federal court may be brought in

(1) a judicial district in which any defendant resides, if all

defendants are residents of the State in which the district is located;

(2) a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or

omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of

property that is the subject of the action is situated; or

(3) if there is no district in which an action may otherwise be brought

as provided in this section, any judicial district in which any

defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction with respect

to such action.

28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(1)-(3). “In the interest of justice,” the Court may transfer a civil action to any

district or division where it could have been filed originally. 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a).

Plaintiff's complaint arises from events that allegedly occurred during his incarceration in

the TTCC, which is located in Trousdale County, Tennessee, within the Nashville Division of the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. 28 U.S.C. § 123(b)(2); see also

https://www.tnmd.uscourts.gov/divisions-court. From the facts alleged, it is not clear that venue

could lie in the Eastern District of Tennessee, where Plaintiff filed this action. The most

appropriate venue for this case, therefore, is the Nashville Division of the Middle District of

Tennessee. See O'Neill v. Battisti, 472 F.2d 789, 791 (6th Cir. 1972) (finding that venue in a suit

against a public official lies in the district where he performs his official duties); see also Brown

v. Winters-Hall, 111-CV-512, 2011 WL 2711145, at *7 (W.D. Mich. July 13, 2011) (determining

that the judicial district housing the prison in which a substantial part of the events or omissions

giving rise to Plaintiff's claims occurred constituted the proper venue).

Accordingly, in the interest of justice, the Clerk is DIRECTED to transfer this action to

the Nashville Division of the Middle District of Tennessee and to close this Court’s file.

AN APPROPRIATE JUDGMENT ORDER WILL ENTER.

United States Distri ge