William Shaw v. A. Cortina, et al.

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA WILLIAM SHAW, No. 2:24-cv-02247 SCR P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER A. CORTINA, et al., 15 Defendants.

17 Plaintiff is incarcerated in state prison and proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis with this civil rights action under § 1983. On September 30, 2025, the undersigned issued a screening order on plaintiff’s original complaint.1 (ECF No. 9.) The proper venue was not clear from the face of the complaint, but the undersigned declined to sua sponte transfer the action at that time.

21 Instead, the undersigned directed plaintiff to plead in an amended complaint where the underlying events occurred. (Id. at 5-6.) On October 3, 2025, plaintiff filed an amended complaint that alleges rights violations at Salinas Valley State Prison in Monterey County. (ECF No. 14.)

24 The federal venue statute provides that a civil action “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 1 The undersigned also granted plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis.

1 | 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 action, 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).

5 In this case, the claim arose in Monterey County, which is in the Northern District of || California. Therefore, plaintiff's claim should have been filed in the United States District Court || for the Northern District of California. In the interest of justice, a federal court may transfer a | complaint filed in the wrong district to the correct district. See 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a); Starnes v. || McGuire, 512 F.2d 918, 932 (D.C. Cir. 1974).

10 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this matter is transferred to the United | States District Court for the Northern District of California.

12 | DATED: October 14, 2025 15 SEAN C. RIORDAN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE