§ 1406. — Cure or waiver of defects.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 28USC1406]
TITLE 28--JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
PART IV--JURISDICTION AND VENUE
CHAPTER 87--DISTRICT COURTS; VENUE
Sec. 1406. Cure or waiver of defects
(a) The district court of a district in which is filed a case laying
venue in the wrong division or district shall dismiss, or if it be in
the interest of justice, transfer such case to any district or division
in which it could have been brought.
(b) Nothing in this chapter shall impair the jurisdiction of a
district court of any matter involving a party who does not interpose
timely and sufficient objection to the venue.
(c) As used in this section, the term ``district court'' includes
the District Court of Guam, the District Court for the Northern Mariana
Islands, and the District Court of the Virgin Islands, and the term
``district'' includes the territorial jurisdiction of each such court.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 937; May 24, 1949, ch. 139, Sec. 81,
63 Stat. 101; Pub. L. 86-770, Sec. 1, Sept. 13, 1960, 74 Stat. 912; Pub.
L. 87-845, Sec. 10, Oct. 18, 1962, 76A Stat. 699; Pub. L. 97-164, title
I, Sec. 132, Apr. 2, 1982, 96 Stat. 39; Pub. L. 104-317, title VI,
Sec. 610(b), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3860.)
Historical and Revision Notes
1948 Act
Subsection (a) provides statutory sanction for transfer instead of
dismissal, where venue is improperly laid.
Subsection (b) is declaratory of existing law. (See Panama R.R. Co.
v. Johnson, 1924, 44 S.Ct. 391, 264 U.S. 375, 68 L.Ed. 748.) It makes
clear the intent of Congress that venue provisions are not
jurisdictional but may be waived.
1949 Act
This section removes an ambiguity in section 1406(a) of title 28,
U.S.C., by substituting ``may'' for ``shall'', thus making it clear that
the court may decline to transfer a case brought in the wrong district
under circumstances where it would not be in the interest of justice to
make such transfer.
Amendments
1996--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104-317 amended subsec. (c) generally.
Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as follows: ``As used in this
section, `district court' includes the United States District Court for
the District of the Canal Zone; and `district' includes the territorial
jurisdiction of that court.''
1982--Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 97-164 redesignated subsec. (d) as
(c). Former subsec. (c), which provided that if a case within the
exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Claims were filed in a district
court, the district court, if it were in the interest of justice, was
required to transfer the case to the Court of Claims where the case
would proceed as if it had been filed in the Court of Claims on the date
that it was filed in the district court, was struck out.
1962--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 87-845 added subsec. (d).
1960--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 86-770 added subsec. (c).
1949--Subsec. (a). Act May 24, 1949, inserted ``dismiss, or if it be
in the interest of justice''.
Effective Date of 1996 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 104-317 applicable to cases pending on Oct. 19,
1996, and to cases commenced on or after such date, see section 610(c)
of Pub. L. 104-317, set out as a note under section 1404 of this title.
Effective Date of 1982 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 97-164 effective Oct. 1, 1982, see section 402
of Pub. L. 97-164, set out as a note under section 171 of this title.
Effective Date of 1962 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 87-845 effective Jan. 2, 1962, see section 25
of Pub. L. 87-845, set out as a note under section 414 of this title.
Effective Date of 1960 Amendment
Section 4 of Pub. L. 86-770 provided in part that: ``The amendments
made by sections 1 and 2 of this Act [adding subsec. (c) of this section
and section 1506 of this title] shall apply to any case or proceeding
pending on, or brought after, the date of enactment of this Act [Sept.
13, 1960] in the district courts or the Court of Claims.''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in title 42 section 2000e-5.
