IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS BEAUMONT DIVISION FABIAN ARGUIJO §

VS. § CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:23-cv-284 INMATE TRUST FUND § MEMORANDUM OPINION REGARDING VENUE Plaintiff Fabian Arguijo, an inmate at the Stiles Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, proceeding pro se, filed this civil rights lawsuit pursuant to

. The above-styled action was referred to the undersigned magistrate judge pursuant to

and the Local Rules for the Assignment of Duties to the United States Magistrate Judge for findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations for the disposition of the case. Discussion Plaintiff brings this action against the administrator of the inmate trust fund. Plaintiff complains that the administrator has been stealing money from his inmate trust fund account. Analysis The Civil Rights Act,

, et seq., under which this case is brought, does not contain a specific venue provision. Accordingly, venue in civil rights cases is controlled by

. Jones v. Bales,

(N.D. Ga. 1972), aff’d per curium,

(5th Cir. 1973). When, as in this case, jurisdiction is not founded solely on diversity of citizenship,

provides that venue is proper only in the judicial district where the defendants reside or in which the claim arose. Plaintiff brings this complaint against an individual located in Huntsville. Plaintiff alleges this individual has been stealing money from his account. Therefore, it is presumed that the claim arose where the defendant works. His claims therefore arose in Huntsville, Walker County, Texas. In addition, the only defendant involved in plaintiff's claim appears to reside in Walker County. Pursuant to

, Walker County is located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. As Walker County is located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, venue in the Eastern District of Texas is not proper. When venue is not proper, the court “shall dismiss, or if it be in the interest of justice, transfer such case to any district or division in which it could have been brought.”

(a). This case should be transferred to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. An appropriate order so providing will be entered by the undersigned.

SIGNED this 7th day of August, 2023. Ef a Zack Hawthorn United States Magistrate Judge