MICHAEL J. ROEMER, Magistrate Judge.
This case has been referred to the undersigned by Hon. Lawrence J. Vilardo for all pre-trial matters, including the determination of non-dispositive motions and the hearing and reporting of dispositive motions. Before the Court is plaintiff Amherst Station II LLC's motion to transfer venue of this action to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. For the following reasons, plaintiff's motion is granted.
RadioShack Corporation ("RadioShack") filed for voluntary relief pursuant to Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code on February 5, 2015, in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware ("Delaware Bankruptcy Court"). That action (the "RadioShack Bankruptcy") is still pending. During the RadioShack Bankruptcy, defendant General Wireless Operations, Inc. ("General Wireless" or "defendant") assumed a lease belonging to RadioShack. The premises which is the subject of the lease is owned by plaintiff Amherst Station II LLC. ("Amherst Station" or "plaintiff"). On August 26, 2016, Amherst Station commenced a summary eviction proceeding against General Wireless in the Town Court of Amherst, New York, alleging that General Wireless was wrongly holding over the lease. Defendant removed the action to this Court on the grounds that the case requires the interpretation of various directives and orders of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court as they pertain to the lease assigned to defendant. Plaintiff now moves to transfer venue to the Delaware Bankruptcy Court.
Section 1404(a) of Title 28 of the United States Code provides that "for 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 or to any district to which all parties have consented." New York Marine and General Ins. Co. v. Lafarge North America, Inc., 599 F.3d 102, 112 (2d Cir. 2010). In determining whether to transfer venue pursuant to Section 1404(a), district courts engage in the following two-part inquiry: (1) whether the action might have been brought in the proposed forum; and (2) whether the transfer promotes convenience and fairness. Forjone v. California, 425 Fed. Appx. 73, 74 (2d Cir. 2011). The decision of whether to transfer venue is left to the sound discretion of the trial court. Id. In evaluating convenience and fairness, courts may consider the following factors: "(1) the plaintiff's choice of forum; (2) the convenience of witnesses; (3) the location of relevant documents and relative ease of access to sources of proof; (4) the convenience of parties; (5) the locus of operative facts; (6) the availability of process to compel attendance of unwilling witnesses; and (7) the relative means of the parties." Fteja v. Facebook, Inc., 841 F.Supp.2d 829, 832 (SDNY 2012).
Here, transfer of this matter is appropriate. Both plaintiff and defendant consent to transfer to the Delaware Bankruptcy Court.
Convenience and fairness also dictate that the action should be transferred. Here, both plaintiff and defendant are formed under Delaware law and defendant is a domiciliary of Delaware. Plaintiff has moved for transfer. See In re ChannelAdvisor Corp. Securities Litigation, 2015 U.S. Dist. 86647 (SDNY 2015) (plaintiff's choice of forum is "generally entitled to deference"). Defendant consents to the transfer, which demonstrates that Delaware Bankruptcy Court is a convenient forum for both parties. Judicial economy, a timely resolution and consistency in rulings also favor transfer. This case is closely related to a complex bankruptcy matter which is currently pending before the Delaware Bankruptcy Court. Thus, that Court is well versed in these issues. Indeed, a transfer to the Delaware Bankruptcy Court will most likely lead to a faster resolution of the matter and would alleviate the need for another court to learn the intricacies of this complex bankruptcy proceeding. Plaintiff states that defendant acquired numerous leases in the RadioShack Bankruptcy which may result in similar litigation. Therefore, not only is the locus of operative facts for this case in Delaware since it directly pertains to directives and orders issued in the RadioShack Bankruptcy by the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, but keeping all lease proceedings related to the Radioshack Bankruptcy within the Delaware Bankruptcy Court will avoid inconsistent results in the interpretation of the leases.
With respect to convenience of the witnesses, plaintiff represents that it is unclear what witnesses, if any, will be needed in this matter which centers around interpretation of a lease and the directives and orders of a bankruptcy court. However, any witnesses would likely be representatives of plaintiff, defendant or RadioShack, all of which have a connection to Delaware and the RadioShack Bankruptcy proceeding. Similarly, most of the evidence, including relevant documents and other sources of proof, are likely already part of the Radioshack Bankruptcy and in possession of the parties.
For these reasons, this matter will be transferred to the Delaware Bankruptcy Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1404(a).