Abdulghani v. United States Medical Licensing Examination
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-05730
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Abdulghani v. United States Medical Licensing Examination, Chief Judge Swain transferred the venue case to the Eastern District of New York.
Nabil Abdulghani and the three named defendants are affected because the action was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York. The order did not decide the merits of the claims.
What happened
Nabil Abdulghani, representing himself, sued the United States Medical Licensing Examination and two related organizations, claiming they violated his federally protected rights and denied him a fair opportunity to complete medical licensing. The case is Abdulghani v. United States Medical Licensing Examination.
The court ruled that venue was improper in the Southern District of New York. Although Abdulghani lives in Kings County, that county is in the Eastern District, and he did not allege that a defendant resides in the Southern District or that a substantial part of the events occurred there.
The court transferred the case to the Eastern District of New York in the interest of justice. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain did not decide whether Abdulghani’s claims have merit or whether the defendants can be sued in the Eastern District; she also denied fee-free appeal status for any appeal from the transfer order.
The detailed version
- Abdulghani v. United States Medical Licensing Examination · No. 1:25-cv-05730
- Laura Swain
- July 29, 2025
Background
Nabil Abdulghani filed this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) violated his federally protected rights and his right to a fair opportunity to complete the medical-licensing process. The complaint listed addresses for the USMLE and FSMB in Pennsylvania and Texas, respectively. Abdulghani stated that he lives in Kings County, New York, and argued that venue was proper in the Southern District of New York because the alleged events had effects there.
Venue analysis
The court explained that federal law generally allows a civil case to be filed where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the relevant events occurred, or, if no other district qualifies, where a defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction. The court noted that Kings County is in the Eastern District of New York, not the Southern District. Abdulghani did not allege that any defendant resides in the Southern District or that a substantial part of the events or omissions underlying his claims occurred there. The court therefore concluded that venue was not proper in the Southern District under the provisions Abdulghani cited.
The court also noted that it was taking no position on whether the defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction in the Eastern District of New York.
Disposition
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406, a court may transfer a case filed in the wrong venue when transfer serves the interests of justice. The court found that venue appeared to lie in the Eastern District because Abdulghani’s claims may have arisen in Kings County. It therefore transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The Southern District case was closed, and no summons was to issue from that court.
The transferee court will determine whether Abdulghani may continue without prepaying filing fees. The court certified that an appeal from the transfer order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the merits of Abdulghani’s claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.