Thompson v. Greyhound Lines, Inc.
United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
2012 WL 6213792 (2012)
Thompson (plaintiff) bought a Greyhound Lines, Inc. (defendant) ticket from Pensacola, Florida to Tunica, Mississippi, but after transferring in Mobile, Alabama to a Colonial Trailways (defendant) bus headed to Jackson, Mississippi, driven by Terry Reeves (defendant, a Florida resident), Thompson fell asleep, missed his stop in Jackson, and was returned to Mobile rather than reaching Tunica as scheduled, allegedly causing him to miss a court date. Thompson sued Greyhound, Colonial, and Reeves in the Southern District of Alabama based on diversity jurisdiction, and Greyhound moved to dismiss for improper venue.
Whether, under the federal venue statute, 28 U.S.C. section 1391(b)(2), if the defendants in a federal diversity action do not reside in the same state, venue is proper in any district where a substantial portion of the events giving rise to the action occurred.