FEDERAL COURTS-CIVIL PROCEDURE-AVAILABILITY TO PLAINTIFF OF CHANGE OF VENUE UNDER TITLE 28 U.S.C.A. 1404(a)

The plaintiffs filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in order to obtain service on the defendant. The plaintiff then filed a motion for an order to transfer the cause to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania under Title 28 U.S.C.A. 1404(a) on the grounds that all the plaintiffs and witnesses resided in Pennsylvania, that it would be inconvenient and expensive to transport these witnesses to Ohio, and that the cause of action arose in Pennsylvania. Held, motion denied. Title 28 U.S.C.A. 1404(a) is not available to plaintiffs as it is a codification of the doctrine of forum non conveniens which is intended to give relief to defendants by placing them in a position equal to that of plaintiffs in selecting the place of trial.

Barnhart v. John B. Rogers Co., (D.C. Ohio 1949) 86 F. Supp. 595.