Belki v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00821
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Belki v. Commissioner, Judge Swain transferred the Social Security review to the Eastern District of New York because Belki alleged residence in Queens.
Amaya Belki’s Social Security review case was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York. The Eastern District will decide whether she may proceed without paying fees.
What happened
Amaya Belki filed this case without a lawyer to seek review of the Commissioner of Social Security’s decision denying her disability benefits. The case was filed in the Southern District of New York.
The court held that the case had to be filed where Belki resides, or where she has her principal place of business. Belki alleged that she lives in Queens County, which is in the Eastern District of New York, so venue was improper in the Southern District.
The court directed that the case be transferred to the Eastern District of New York under the federal venue statute and closed the case in the Southern District. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any decision about allowing Belki to proceed without paying filing fees would be made by the Eastern District, and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Belki v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:25-cv-00821
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 30, 2025
Background
Amaya Belki brought this action without a lawyer under the Social Security Act, seeking judicial review of the Commissioner of Social Security’s decision denying her application for disability benefits. The opinion cites 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c)(3) as the provisions authorizing review.
Venue
The court explained that a Social Security review action may be brought only in the federal district where the plaintiff resides or has a principal place of business, or, if neither is in a federal judicial district, in the District of Columbia. Belki alleged that she resides in Queens County. The court found that Queens County is in the Eastern District of New York and that Belki made no allegation about a principal place of business. As a result, venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York.
Ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), the court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The Clerk was directed to transfer the action, and the order stated that the Southern District case was closed. A summons was not to issue from the Southern District. The court also left to the Eastern District any decision about whether Belki could proceed without paying fees. Finally, the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.