Ricks v. Department of Justice Louisiana State

• Court: District Court, E.D. Louisiana
• Decided: June 18, 2025
• Docket: 2:25-cv-01238
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

WESLEY RICKS CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS NO. 25-1238

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SECTION “L”(3) LOUISIANA STATE, ET AL.

ORDER AND REASONS Plaintiff, Wesley Ricks, an inmate housed at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, in Angola, Louisiana, submitted for filing this pro se complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In this lawsuit, he alleges that he is being denied medical treatment and that certain alleged prison conditions violate his constitutional rights. Federal law provides:

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 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). In the instant case, the defendants are not alleged to reside in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Further, no part of the events or omissions giving rise to plaintiffs claims occurred within this district. However, those events or omissions allegedly occurred in West Feliciana Parish, which is within the geographical boundaries of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. 28 U.S.C. § 98(b). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1404(a) and 1406(a), a district in which venue is wrong may transfer a case to another district or division in which venue is proper, if such transfer is in the interest of justice. Balawajder v. Scott, 160 F.3d 1066, 1067 (5th Cir. 1999). Because venue is not proper in the Eastern District of Louisiana but would be proper in the Middle District of Louisiana, the Court finds that it is in the interest of justice and fairness to the parties that this civil action be transferred to the Middle District of Louisiana for further consideration. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the captioned matter be TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that determination of pauper status is DEFERRED to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. New Orleans, Louisiana, this 18 day of June, 2025.

fn Hee UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE