Torres v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:19-cv-11109
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Torres v. Commissioner, Judge McMahon transferred the Social Security case to the Eastern District of New York because venue was improper.
John Abel Torres's Social Security review action was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York; the court did not decide his eligibility for benefits.
What happened
In Torres v. Commissioner of Social Security, John Abel Torres, representing himself, sought judicial review of a final decision about his application for Social Security benefits.
Torres alleged that he lived in Staten Island, which is in Richmond County. The court explained that Social Security review cases must be filed where the plaintiff lives or has a principal place of business, and Richmond County is in the Eastern District of New York, not the Southern District.
Judge McMahon transferred the action to the Eastern District of New York under the federal venue-transfer statute. The court did not decide whether Torres was entitled to benefits, and it left any decision about allowing him to proceed without paying filing fees to the receiving court.
The detailed version
- Torres v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:19-cv-11109
- Colleen McMahon
- Dec. 5, 2019
Background
John Abel Torres filed this self-represented action under sections 405(g) and/or 1383(c)(3) of the Social Security Act to seek judicial review of the Commissioner of Social Security's final administrative decision concerning his application for Social Security benefits.
Venue analysis
Section 405(g) provides that a Social Security review action may be filed in the federal district where the plaintiff resides or has a principal place of business. If the plaintiff resides nowhere in a federal judicial district and has no principal place of business there, the action may be filed in the District of Columbia.
Torres alleged that he resides in Staten Island, New York, in Richmond County. The court determined that his residence was outside the Southern District of New York and that he made no allegation about a principal place of business. Because Richmond County falls within the Eastern District of New York, venue was not proper in the Southern District.
Disposition
The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), the statute allowing transfer when venue is improper. The Clerk was directed to transfer the action, mail the order to Torres, and note service on the docket. The court stated that the receiving court would decide whether Torres could proceed without prepaying fees, and that no summons would issue from the Southern District. The order closed the case in that court.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court did not reach the merits of Torres's claim for Social Security benefits.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.