Also known as: Federal transfer statutes · 28 U.S.C. § 1404 · federal venue transfer statute
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A federal statute that permits a district court to transfer a civil action to another district where the case could have been brought when transfer serves the convenience of parties and witnesses and the interest of justice. The statute applies only when the transferee court has jurisdiction and proper venue. When venue was proper in the original district, the transferee court must apply the same state law and choice-of-law rules that the transferor court would have applied.
Felix Franco filed a diversity action in federal court in New Jersey against a Delaware defendant. After learning that New Jersey choice-of-law rules favored him, Franco moved to transfer the case to Delaware under the federal transfer statute for convenience. The court granted the motion. The Delaware court must still apply New Jersey substantive law and New Jersey choice-of-law rules because the original venue was proper.
Fatima Flores sued a foreign shipping company in federal court in Colorado after a collision off the Florida coast. The defendant moved to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds. Because a proper federal district existed in Florida, the court transferred the case under the federal transfer statute rather than dismissing it outright.
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No. A federal court may transfer a case under the statute even when it lacks personal jurisdiction over the defendant, provided the transferee district is one where the action could have been brought and transfer serves the interest of justice.
The transferee court must apply the same state substantive law and choice-of-law rules that the transferor court would have applied. This rule holds even when the plaintiff requested the transfer after initially choosing an inconvenient but proper forum.
The statute displaces forum non conveniens whenever transfer to another federal district is available. Forum non conveniens remains available only for cases in which the alternative forum lies outside the federal system.