United States v. Preston
Decision Date | 16 August 2013 |
Docket Number | Civil Action No. 13–265(RC). |
Citation | 961 F.Supp.2d 133 |
Parties | UNITED STATES of America, v. James and Nancy PRESTON, Defendants. |
Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Oliver W. McDaniel, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for United States of America.
Mariam Wagih Tadros, Stephen D. Charnoff, Rees Broome, PC, Tysons Corner, VA, Sean Patrick Roche, Cameron/McEvoy, PLLC, Fairfax, VA, for Defendants.
The defendants have moved to dismiss this case for improper venue or, in the alternative, to transfer it to the Eastern District of Virginia. Their motion will be denied.
In September 2012, Nancy Preston pled guilty to mail fraud, and was ordered to make restitution to her employer, from whom she had embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars. A substantial portion of that judgment remains unsatisfied. The government alleges that several months before she was charged, but after she had admitted her guilt to FBI agents, Mrs. Preston deeded to her husband, James Preston, her interest in their house in Fairfax County, Virginia. Compl. ¶¶ 2–3. Mr. Preston gave his wife ten dollars in consideration of the transfer, which the government now seeks to void. Id. ¶ 3. The government alleges that Mrs. Preston did not receive reasonably equivalent value for her interest in the house, and that she and her husband made the transfer to hinder the satisfaction of the anticipated restitution judgment. It has filed a fraudulent transfer complaint under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act, 28 U.S.C. § 3304. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3), the Prestons have moved to dismiss this case for improper venue or, in the alternative, to transfer it to the Eastern District of Virginia.
“Rule 12(b)(3) instructs the court to dismiss or transfer a case if venue is improper or inconvenient in the plaintiff's chosen forum.” Poku v. FDIC, 752 F.Supp.2d 23, 26 (D.D.C.2010). “In considering a Rule 12(b)(3) motion, the court accepts the plaintiff's well-pled factual allegations regarding venue as true, draws all reasonable inferences from those allegations in the plaintiff's favor, and resolves any factual conflicts in the plaintiff's favor.” Williams v. GEICO Corp., 792 F.Supp.2d 58, 62 (D.D.C.2011) (quoting Pendleton v. Mukasey, 552 F.Supp.2d 14, 17 (D.D.C.2008)). But the court need not accept the plaintiff's legal conclusions, Darby v. U.S. Dep't of Energy, 231 F.Supp.2d 274, 277 (D.D.C.2002), nor “inferences that are unsupported by the facts set out in the complaint,” Herbert v. Sebelius, 925 F.Supp.2d 13, 17 (D.D.C.2013) (citing Trudeau v. FTC, 456 F.3d 178, 193 (D.C.Cir.2006)). “A court may [also] consider material outside of the pleadings in ruling on a motion to dismiss for lack of venue....” Artis v. Greenspan, 223 F.Supp.2d 149, 152 (D.D.C.2002).
“Because it is the plaintiff's obligation to institute the action in a permissible forum, the plaintiff usually bears the burden of establishing that venue is proper.” Freeman v. Fallin, 254 F.Supp.2d 52, 56 (D.D.C.2003). If venue is improper, “[t]he district court ... shall dismiss, or if it be in the interest of justice, transfer [the] case to any district or division in which it could have been brought.” 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). “The decision whether a transfer or a dismissal is in the interest of justice ... rests within the sound discretion of the district court.” Naartex Consulting Corp. v. Watt, 722 F.2d 779, 789 (D.C.Cir.1983).
Even when venue is proper, however, “[f]or the convenience of 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....” 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). “The idea behind s. 1404(a) is that where a ‘civil action’ to vindicate a wrong—however brought in a court—presents issues and requires witnesses that make one District Court more convenient than another, the trial judge can, after findings, transfer the whole action to the more convenient court.” Continental Grain Co. v. Barge F.B.L.–585, 364 U.S. 19, 26, 80 S.Ct. 1470, 4 L.Ed.2d 1540 (1960). “[T]he main purpose of section 1404(a) is to afford defendants protection where maintenance of the action in the plaintiff's choice of forum will make litigation oppressively expensive, inconvenient, difficult or harassing to defend.” Starnes v. McGuire, 512 F.2d 918, 927 (D.C.Cir.1974) (en banc); accord Van Dusen v. Barrack, 376 U.S. 612, 616, 84 S.Ct. 805, 11 L.Ed.2d 945 (1964) . When venue is properly laid in this district, Starnes, 512 F.2d at 925–26.
Section 1404(a) “vests ‘discretion in the district court to adjudicate motions for transfer according to an “individualized, case-by-case consideration of convenience and fairness.” ’ ” Reiffin v. Microsoft Corp., 104 F.Supp.2d 48, 50 (D.D.C.2000) (quoting Stewart Org., Inc. v. Ricoh Corp., 487 U.S. 22, 29, 108 S.Ct. 2239, 101 L.Ed.2d 22 (1988) (quoting Van Dusen, 376 U.S. at 622, 84 S.Ct. 805)). And it Stewart Org., 487 U.S. at 30, 108 S.Ct. 2239. The precise “standards to be considered in determining whether to grant or deny a section 1404(a) motion to transfer are generally ... left to the discretion of the trial court,” SEC v. Page Airways, Inc., 464 F.Supp. 461, 463 (D.D.C.1978), which is “broad” but “not untrammeled,” Fine v. McGuire, 433 F.2d 499, 501 (D.C.Cir.1970) (per curiam) ( ).
The Prestons argue that venue is not proper in the District of Columbia because this case does not satisfy the general venue statute. See28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). The government's primary argument is that the court need not rely on the general venue statute, because the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act (“FDCPA”) includes a nationwide service of process provision that also, implicitly, provides for nationwide venue. See28 U.S.C. § 3004(b)(1). One judge in this district has said that this is so, that the Reese Bros., Inc. v. U.S. Postal Serv., 477 F.Supp.2d 31, 39 (D.D.C.2007); accord SEC v. Brightpoint, Inc., 2011 WL 6778493 at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 21, 2011) () . The logic of this interpretation is that, if the FDCPA allows for process to “be served in any State” and “enforced by the court” that issues it, 28 U.S.C. § 3004(b)(1), and thereby provides for nationwide jurisdiction, see Bally Gaming, Inc. v. Kappos, 789 F.Supp.2d 41, 45 (D.D.C.2011) ( ), then it must contemplate that no court would dismiss an FDCPA case for improper venue. Persuaded by that reasoning, the court concludes that venue is proper under the FDCPA.1
The Prestons have, nonetheless, requested that the case be transferred. They argue that transfer is mandated by 28 U.S.C. § 3004(b)(2), which provides that “[i]f the debtor so requests, within 20 days after receiving the notice described in section 3101(d) or 3202(b), the action or proceeding in which the writ, order, or judgment was issued shall be transferred to the district court for the district in which the debtor resides.” 28 U.S.C. § 3004(b)(2) (emphasis added). The defendants have not received—and, in this action, will never receive—“the notice described in section 3101(d) or 3202(b).” Id. “[T]he notice described in section 3101(d),” id., must be provided when the United States applies for a “prejudgment remedy” in “a civil action on a claim for a debt,” id. § 3101(a)(1); see id. § 3101(d)(1) . “[T]he notice described in section ... 3202(b),” id. 3004(b)(2), is given when the United States seeks a post judgment remedy on a claim for debt, id. § 3202(b) ; see id. §§ 3201–06 (Subchapter C, “Postjudgment Remedies”).
This case was brought under 28 U.S.C. § 3304, which governs fraudulent conveyance actions and falls within subchapter D of the FDCPA. Because this...
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