Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), how may a federal district court dispose of a civil action that has been filed in a district where venue is improper?
The court must transfer the action to a proper district.
The court may either dismiss or transfer the action only if the defendant moves for such relief; otherwise it must proceed in the improper venue.
The court may, in its discretion and in the interest of justice, either dismiss the action or transfer it to a district where it could have been brought.
Section 1406(a) provides that when a case is filed in the wrong district or division, the district court shall either dismiss the action or, if it is in the interest of justice, transfer the case to any district or division in which it could have been brought. The statute gives the court discretion to choose between dismissal and transfer; it does not mandate either course in every instance. Therefore, the correct answer is that the court may either dismiss or transfer the action in the interest of justice.
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