Schwartz v. Marriott Hotel Services, Inc.

• Decision Date: 23 February 2002
• Docket Number: No. 01 CV 2515 ADS ARL.,01 CV 2515 ADS ARL.
• Citation: 186 F.Supp.2d 245
• Parties: Richard B. SCHWARTZ, Plaintiff, v. MARRIOTT HOTEL SERVICES, INC., d/b/a Newark Airport Marriott, Host Marriott L.L.P. and Marriott Corporation, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

186 F.Supp.2d 245

Richard B. SCHWARTZ, Plaintiff, v. MARRIOTT HOTEL SERVICES, INC., d/b/a Newark Airport Marriott, Host Marriott L.L.P. and Marriott Corporation, Defendants.

No. 01 CV 2515 ADS ARL.

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

February 23, 2002.

Schwartz & Grodofsky, P.C. by Richard B. Schwartz, Esq., Mineola, NY, for Plaintiff.

Garbarini & Scher, P.C. by William G. Scher, Esq., New York City, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

This diversity case is a personal injury action to recover damages for injuries allegedly suffered by Richard B. Schwartz ("Schwartz" or the "plaintiff") when he slipped and fell on a freshly-shampooed rug in the Newark Airport Marriott, a hotel operated by defendant Marriott Hotel Services d/b/a Newark Airport Marriott ("Newark Airport Marriott" or a "defendant"). Presently before the Court is a motion by the defendants to transfer the case to the District Court for the District of New Jersey.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Complaint

The complaint alleges that on April 28, 1999, Schwartz slipped and fell on a freshly shampooed carpet in the Newark Airport Marriott hotel. As a result of the fall, Schwartz sustained physical injuries, some of which were permanent. He claims to have required surgery on his right rotator cuff and to have missed days of work. He seeks $500,000 in damages.

The complaint also alleges that the Newark Airport Marriott was operated pursuant to an agreement between the hotel and another defendant, Host Marriott, L.P. ("Host Marriott" or a "defendant"). The plaintiff contends that the Newark Airport Marriott and Host Marriott "were franchisees and/or subsidiaries of" defendant Marriott Corporation ("Marriott Corporation"). According to the complaint, the Newark Airport Marriott is a Delaware corporation with a principal place of business in New Jersey; Host Marriott is a limited partnership with its principal place of business in Maryland; and Marriott Corporation is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Washington, D.C.

B. The Motion to Transfer

The defendants assert that transfer of this case to the District of New Jersey is proper because the Newark Airport Marriott is located in New Jersey; the plaintiff is the only witness in the Eastern District of New York; inspection of the hotel by counsel, the experts, and the jury would occur in New Jersey; Marriott's non-party material witnesses are located in New Jersey, which is beyond the subpoena power of this Court; the documents necessary to Marriott's defense are in New Jersey; the case involves an issue important to jurors in New Jersey, namely, whether the Newark Airport Marriott was negligent; the case involves the application of New Jersey law; and the only reason the case is pending in this district is because the plaintiff lives here.

Schwartz opposes transfer of the case. He points out that the distance between the courts is short and, thus, real inconvenience to the parties is not a factor. Schwartz states that each venue is inconvenient to one of the parties, because the Newark Airport Marriott is in New Jersey, and he lives in New York. He also asserts that the evidence is located in both venues, because the accident occurred in New Jersey, and he received medical treatment in New York. He claims that venue does not affect the ability of Marriott to compel the attendance of its witnesses because the witnesses likely live within 100 miles of the Court and, in any event, are under Marriott's control. On the other hand, states Schwartz, his nonparty witnesses are not under his control and live in Nassau County. Schwartz agrees that New Jersey law applies in this case but argues that the case does not involve complex issues of law. Schwartz further alleges that this case does not involve issues of social consequence that warrant transferring the case to New Jersey. He claims that his choice of forum should be accorded great weight.

II. DISCUSSION

A motion to change venue from one federal district court to another when venue is initially proper, is governed by 28 U.S.C § 1404(a), which provides, in relevant part:

[F]or the convenience of the parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice, a district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where it might have been brought.

The goal of Section 1404(a) "is to prevent waste of `time, energy and money' and `to protect litigants, witnesses and the public against unnecessary inconvenience and expense.'" Van Dusen v. Barrack, 376 U.S. 612, 616, 84 S.Ct. 805, 809, 11 L.Ed.2d 945 (1964) (quoting Continental Grain Co. v. Barge FBL- 585, 364 U.S. 19, 26-27, 80 S.Ct. 1470, 4 L.Ed.2d 1540 (1960)). "[M]otions to transfer are within the broad discretion of the district court and are determined upon notions of convenience and fairness on a case-by-case basis." In re Cuyahoga Equip. Corp., 980 F.2d 110, 117 (2d Cir.1992) (citing Stewart Org., Inc. v. Ricoh Corp., 487 U.S. 22, 29, 108 S.Ct. 2239, 101 L.Ed.2d 22 (1988)).

The inquiry on a motion to transfer venue is twofold. First, the Court must determine whether the action "might have been brought" in the forum to which the movant seeks to have the case transferred. If so, the second issue for the court to resolve is whether the "convenience of the parties and witnesses" and the "interests of justice" warrant transferring the case. See 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a); Merkur v. Wyndham Int'l, Inc., 2001 WL 477268 *1 (E.D.N.Y. March 30, 2001) (citing Baker v. Bennett, 942 F.Supp. 171, 175-76 (S.D.N.Y.1996)); Laumann Mfg. Corp. v. Castings USA, 913 F.Supp. 712, 720 (E.D.N.Y.1996).

Courts generally weigh a number of factors to in making the latter decision, and none of them is singly dispositive. See Modern Computer Corp. v. Ma, 862 F.Supp. 938, 948 (E.D.N.Y.1994); see also Blass v. Capital Int'l Security Group, 2001 WL 301137 *4 (E.D.N.Y. March 23, 2001); Longo v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 79 F.Supp.2d 169, 171 (E.D.N.Y.1999). The criteria include: (1) the convenience of the witnesses; (2) the convenience of the parties; (3) the locus of operative facts; (4) the availability of process to compel the attendance of unwilling witnesses; (5) the location of relevant documents and the relative ease of access to sources of proof; (6) the relative means of the parties; (7) the district court's familiarity with governing law; (8) the weight accorded the plaintiff's choice of forum; and (9) trial efficiency and the interest of justice. See Merkur, 2001 WL 477268 *2; Blass, 2001 WL 301137 *4; Longo, 79 F.Supp.2d at 171 (citing Pall Corp. v. PTI Technologies, Inc., 992 F.Supp. 196, 199 (E.D.N.Y.1998)).

The moving party bears the burden of clearly establishing that a transfer is appropriate and that the motion should be granted. See Laumann, 913 F.Supp. at 720; Merkur, 2001 WL 477268 *1; Longo, 79 F.Supp.2d 169, 171 (E.D.N.Y.1999); see also Factors Etc., Inc. v. Pro Arts, Inc., 579 F.2d 215, 217-18 (2d Cir.1978). To meet this burden, the moving party must support the application with an affidavit containing detailed factual statements relevant to the factors the Court considers when deciding a motion to transfer venue. See Photoactive Productions, Inc. v. Al Or Int'l, Ltd., 99 F.Supp.2d 281, 292 (E.D.N.Y.2000) (citing Factors, 579 F.2d at 218); see also Blass, 2001 WL 301137 *4 (E.D.N.Y. March 23, 2001).

As to the first query, the Court finds that this case could have been brought in the District of New Jersey. The parties are diverse: the plaintiff is a resident of New York; the Newark Airport Marriott is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in New Jersey; Host is a limited partnership with its principal place of business in Maryland; and Marriott Corporation is Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Washington, D.C. Venue in the District of New Jersey would be proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(a)(2), as it is the district in which a substantial part of the acts or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred. Having answered the threshold question affirmatively the Court must examine whether the defendants have met their burden of clearly establishing that the convenience of the parties and witnesses, as well as the interest of justice, warrant transfer to the District of New Jersey. Merkur, 2001 WL 477268 *1; Longo, 79 F.Supp.2d at 171; Laumann Mfg. Corp., 913 F.Supp. at 720.

A. Convenience of the Witnesses

Convenience of the witnesses generally is the most important consideration when deciding a motion to transfer venue under section 1404(a). See Merkur, 2001 WL 477268 *1; Blass, 2001 WL 301137 *5. The defendants have identified a number of witnesses who would be called to testify about the incident and who either live or work in New Jersey. These potential witnesses include hotel security and housekeeping staff as well as four named individuals. On the other hand, Schwartz has identified five witnesses who would testify on his behalf, and all of them reside in New York. Those individuals include: the limousine driver who drove one Irene Nordlund to the Newark Airport Marriott to retrieve the injured Schwartz; Ms. Nordlund who drove Schwartz home in his car; and the three doctors who treated him.

Notably, "it is not the number of prospective witnesses that determines the appropriateness of a transfer but, rather, the materiality of their anticipated testimony." Merkur, 2001 WL 477268 *3 (citing Dwyer v. General Motors Corp., 853 F.Supp. 690, 695 (S.D.N.Y.1994)). None of the defendants' witnesses is an eyewitness to the incident. Rather, the security staff responded to the scene of the accident; housekeeping staff spoke with the plaintiff about his fall and administered first aid; and the four named individuals observed Schwartz after his fall. Except for the four named individuals the defendants' witnesses are employees of the Newark Airport Marriott and, thus, are not non-party wit...