Abraham Sutain v. Shapiro and Lieberman Pincus Lieberman W. Donald Maurer Clarence Shapiro, Jointly and Severally

Appellant in 1979 brought this suit in the District Court of the Central District of California against certain New Jersey residents and a New Jersey corporation. In 1980 appellant amended his complaint to add two defendants who also reside in New Jersey. The complaint alleged that the defendants had deprived appellant of his constitutional rights. Jurisdiction was asserted under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981-88 , 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and § 1332, and pendent jurisdiction. Certain defendants moved to dismiss the action for lack of proper venue under 28 U.S.C. § 1391 (b) because jurisdiction was not founded solely on diversity of citizenship, no defendant resided in the Central District, nor did the claim arise therein. The motion was granted and the action was dismissed as to all defendants. We affirm.

I.

FACTS

Appellant, while a New York resident, sold his New York corporation to Burton Kroll in 1973. Appellee Shapiro & Lieberman (S & L), an accounting firm whose partners reside in New Jersey, was employed by appellant in 1974. Sometime during the period between 1973 and 1975 appellant moved to California.

Appellant’s allegations in this suit have their origin in an investigation by the…