SHIRA A. SCHEINDLIN, District Judge.
On January 8, 2016, Flat Rate Long Distance Inc. ("Flat Rate") and Penske Truck Leasing Company, LP moved to transfer this case to the Western District of Missouri. Juan Diaz-Casamayor joined in the motion on January 15, 2016. For the following reasons, defendants' motion is GRANTED.
To prevail on a motion to transfer venue, a defendant must establish that "`(1) the action is one that `might have been brought' in the proposed transferee district, and (2) the transfer is appropriate given the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice.'"
This diversity action could have been brought in the Western District of Missouri. When sitting in diversity, personal jurisdiction is based on the long-arm statute of the forum state.
This action — based entirely on a fatal one-car accident that took place in Missouri — qualifies under the terms of this statute. All parties consented to jurisdiction in Missouri through the use and operation of their respective motor vehicles on Missouri highways, and complete diversity exists between the parties. The first prong of the test for transfer of venue is therefore met.
The second prong is also met — almost all of the factors this Court must consider when determining whether a change of venue is appropriate militate towards transfer. The events underlying the action took place in Missouri. Several witnesses, including the coroner, various law enforcement officials, and experts who investigated the scene of the accident, are located in Missouri — and are outside the plaintiff's range of subpoena power. Missouri tort law will govern the outcome of the action. Indeed, New York has no clear connection to the events underlying this action — its only connection to this case appears to be as Flat Rate's principal place of business.
While plaintiff raises certain arguments in favor of retaining the case in New York, including (1) that it would be more convenient for plaintiff, a resident of Israel, to try this case in New York, and (2) that certain records and their custodians are located in New York or New Jersey, these countervailing considerations are insufficient to overcome this Court's determination that, given the totality of the circumstances, this case is best heard in the Western District of Missouri.
For the foregoing reasons, defendants' motion is GRANTED. The Clerk of the Court is directed to close this motion (Dkt. No. 42), and to transfer this case forthwith to the Western District of Missouri.
SO ORDERED.