Sims v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-09358
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Sims v. Commissioner, Judge Swain transferred the disability-benefits case to the Western District of New York because venue was improper.
Ruth Patricia Sims’s Social Security review action was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Western District of New York because the court found venue improper. The Western District will decide whether she may proceed without paying filing fees. The Southern District did not issue a summons and closed the case there.
What happened
Ruth Patricia Sims v. Commissioner of Social Security is a pro se case seeking review of the Commissioner’s decision denying Sims disability benefits under the Social Security Act.
Judge Swain concluded that the case could be brought only where Sims resides or has her principal place of business. Sims alleged that she resides in Rochester, Monroe County, New York, which is outside the Southern District of New York, and she did not allege a principal place of business.
Judge Swain transferred the action to the Western District of New York. The Southern District clerk was directed not to issue a summons, and the case was closed there. The transferee court will decide whether Sims may proceed without paying filing fees; the court also denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Sims v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:25-cv-09358
- Laura Swain
- Nov. 18, 2025
Background
Ruth Patricia Sims, proceeding without a lawyer, filed an action seeking review of the Commissioner of Social Security’s decision denying her application for disability benefits. She relied on 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and/or 1383(c)(3), which provide for judicial review of certain Social Security decisions.
The opinion states that Sims alleges she resides in Rochester, Monroe County, New York. The record also states that she had not paid the filing fees or submitted an application to proceed without paying them.
Venue Analysis
The court explained that an action under Sections 405(g) or 1383(c)(3) may be brought only in the federal district where the plaintiff resides or has a principal place of business. If the plaintiff resides and has a principal place of business outside any federal judicial district, the action may be brought in the District of Columbia.
Because Sims’s alleged residence is not in the Southern District of New York, and she made no allegation about a principal place of business, the court found that venue was not proper there. Monroe County is within the Western District of New York.
Disposition
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), the court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. The order does not decide whether the Commissioner’s denial of benefits was correct. The clerk was directed to transfer the action, and a summons was not to issue from the Southern District of New York. The order closed the case in that court.
The order states that whether Sims may proceed without paying fees is for the transferee court to decide. The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.