Thomas v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Philip Halpern
- 7:18-cv-11806
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Thomas v. Commissioner, Judge McCarthy granted the Commissioner’s motion to transfer Thomas’s Social Security case to Pennsylvania.
Angela Thomas and the Commissioner of Social Security; the case was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
What happened
In Thomas v. Commissioner, Angela Thomas challenged the denial of her application for disability insurance benefits. The Commissioner asked to move the case from the Southern District of New York to the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Thomas acknowledged that she lived in Pennsylvania’s Middle District when she filed the case and took no position on the transfer request. The court explained that Social Security cases generally belong in the federal district where the claimant resides.
Judge McCarthy granted the Commissioner’s motion to transfer the case to the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The clerk was directed to transfer the case and close it in the Southern District of New York.
The detailed version
- Thomas v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 7:18-cv-11806
- Philip Halpern
- Apr. 14, 2020
Background
Angela Thomas brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), asking the court to review the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of her application for disability insurance benefits. The Commissioner moved to transfer the case to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Thomas stated in her complaint that she lived in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. In response to the transfer motion, she confirmed that she lived in the Middle District of Pennsylvania when she filed the case and took no position on the requested transfer.
Court’s Analysis
The court noted that the Social Security Act allows review in the federal district where the claimant resides or has a principal place of business. Stroudsburg is in Monroe County, and the court determined that Monroe County is in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Because Thomas acknowledged living there when the case began and did not oppose the motion, the court found that transfer was appropriate.
Ruling
Judge Judith C. McCarthy granted the Commissioner’s motion to transfer the case to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The clerk was directed to terminate the pending motion, transfer the case, and close the case in the Southern District of New York. The order addressed venue and did not decide whether Thomas was entitled to disability benefits.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.