Sambula v. District Attorney et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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LINO SAMBULA,
Plaintiff,
-against-
DISTRICT ATTORNEY, JUDGE ALVIN M.
YEARWOOD, MARK STEVEN DEMARCO,
Defendants.
------------------------------------x
MEMORANDUM & ORDER
25-CV-2664 (EK)(SDE)
ERIC KOMITEE, United States District Judge:
Plaintiff Lino Sambula filed this action pursuant to
42 U.S.C. § 1983. 	Proceeding pro se, he alleges that he was
falsely arrested. 	Compl., ECF No. 1. 	As set forth below, the
case is hereby transferred to the United States District Court
for the Southern District of New York.
Civil actions are properly filed in “(1) a judicial
district in which any defendant resides, if all defendants are
residents of the State in which the district is located” or “(2)
a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or
omissions giving rise to the claim occurred.” 	28 U.S.C.
§ 1391(b). 	If an action is filed in the wrong district court, a
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.” 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). 	Such transfer may be
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made upon motion or by a court sua sponte. See Pisani v. Diener,
No. 07-CV-5118, 2009 WL 749893, at *8 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 17, 2009)
(collecting cases).
Here, venue is not proper in the Eastern District of
New York. 	Plaintiff seeks to challenge an arrest made in Bronx
County and sues defendants located in New York County and Bronx
County. See Compl. 2-5. 	Accordingly, this action “could have
been brought” in the Southern District of New York, but was not
properly brought here.
The Clerk of Court is therefore directed to transfer
this action to the United States District Court for the Southern
District of New York. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 112(b), 1406(a). The
decision on plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma
pauperis, see ECF No. 2, is reserved for the transferee court.
Rule 83.1 of the Local Rules of the Eastern District of New
York, which requires a seven-day delay before the Clerk shall
transfer a case from this district, is waived. 	No summons shall
issue from this Court. 	The Court certifies pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this Order would not be
taken in good faith and therefore in forma pauperis status is
denied for the purpose of an appeal. Coppedge v. United States,
369 U.S. 438, 444-45 (1962). 	The Clerk of Court is respectfully
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directed to mail a copy of this order to Sambula and to note the
mailing on the docket.
SO ORDERED.
/s/ Eric Komitee
ERIC KOMITEE
United States District Judge
Dated: 	February 2, 2026
Brooklyn, New York
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