Roberts v. Worthington et al

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
WICHITA FALLS DIVISION
SUNSARRI ROBERTS, 	§
§
Plaintiff, 	§
§
v. 	§ 	Civil Action No. 7:25-cv-00129-O-BP
§
SUSAN WORTHINGTON, et al., 	§
§
Defendants. 	§
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATION
OF THE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
On December 29, 2025, pro se Plaintiff Sunsarri Roberts filed a complaint against various
Defendants, alleging they violated her Fourth Amendment rights, committed legal malpractice,
and abused their power. ECF No. 1 at 7. Roberts’ complaint asserts the defendants “broke in
unlocking [two] doors,” and “talk[ed] to [her] suicidal dying child [without] [her] knowing while
she[] [was] at a mental hospital.” The case was automatically assigned to the undersigned under
Special Order 3 on December 31, 2025. ECF No. 4. After reviewing Roberts’ complaint and the
applicable legal authorities, the undersigned RECOMMENDS that Chief United States District
Judge O’Connor TRANSFER the case to the United States District Court for the Western District
of Oklahoma.
Roberts’ complaint alleges no facts that connect her claims to the Wichita Falls Division
of this Court. While Roberts lists her address as a post office box in Wichita Falls, Texas, she does
not state facts to show that any of the events in her complaint occurred in the Northern District of
Texas.
The general venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), states that venue in a civil action such as
this one is proper in:
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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).
The Court may transfer any civil action to a more convenient forum where it could have
been filed originally “[f]or the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice,” id.
§ 1404(a); see also Hardwick v. Brinson, 523 F.2d 798, 800 n.2 (5th Cir. 1975), or it may transfer
a case filed in the wrong district or division “to any district or division in which it could have been
brought.” 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). A district court may raise the issue of venue sua sponte. See Mills
v. Beech Aircraft Corp., 886 F.2d 758, 761 (5th Cir. 1989); see also Empty Barge Lines II, Inc. v.
Dredge Leonard Fisher, 441 F. Supp. 2d 786, 789 (E.D. Tex. 2006) (collecting cases).
The district where a plaintiff such as Roberts resides is irrelevant to the issue of where a
suit is properly filed, though Roberts asserts that her mailing address is in Wichita Falls, Texas.
ECF No. 1 at 1. As to the issue of the defendants’ residences, Roberts pleads that all defendants
reside at addresses in either Payne or Canadian Counties, Oklahoma. ECF No. 1 at 2-6. Roberts
does not allege that any of the defendants reside in the Northern District of Texas.
Payne and Canadiana Counties, Oklahoma both are in the Western District of Oklahoma.
See 28 U.S.C. § 116(c). Roberts pleads no facts to demonstrate that “a substantial part of the events
or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of the property that is subject
to the action is situated” in the Wichita Falls division of the Northern District of Texas. 28 U.S.C.
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§ 1391(b)(2). Because Roberts does not assert any facts to suggest a connection with a county
other than Payne and Canadian Counties, Oklahoma, the Court concludes that she has not shown
that venue is proper in the Wichita Falls division of the Court.
The undersigned discerns no connection with the Wichita Falls Division of the Court other
than Roberts’ mailing address. See ECF No. 1 at 1. Roberts offers no facts to show that any of the
actions in her complaint took place in the Northern District of Texas, that any of the defendants
reside here, or that any defendant is subject to this Court’s personal jurisdiction with respect to the
action.
Accordingly, the undersigned RECOMMENDS for the convenience of the parties and the
witnesses and in the interest of justice, Chief United States District Judge Reed O’Connor
TRANSFER this action to the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Under Local Civil Rule 62.2, Chief Judge O’Connor should stay the case for 21 days from the date
he accepts these findings, conclusion, and recommendation unless Plaintiff consents in writing to
the transfer.
SIGNED on January 14, 2026.
______________________________________
Hal R. Ray, Jr.
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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