Romero v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:20-cv-09578
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Romero v. Commissioner, Judge Broderick transferred Romero’s Social Security case to the Eastern District of New York because venue was improper.
Janice Annita Romero’s Social Security disability-benefits review action was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York; the transferee court would decide whether she could proceed without paying fees.
What happened
Janice Annita Romero, acting without a lawyer, asked the court to review the Social Security Commissioner’s denial of her disability-benefits application. The case was filed in the Southern District of New York.
The court determined that Romero alleged she lived in Kings County, which is in the Eastern District of New York. Because the Social Security review law generally requires the case to be filed where the claimant lives, the court found that venue was improper in the Southern District.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick ordered the case transferred to the Eastern District of New York under the federal venue-transfer law. The Southern District closed its case, did not issue a summons, and denied no-fee status for any appeal; the transferee court would decide whether Romero could continue without paying filing fees.
The detailed version
- Romero v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:20-cv-09578
- Vernon Broderick
- Nov. 21, 2020
Background
Janice Annita Romero brought this action without a lawyer to seek judicial 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 court review of certain Social Security decisions.
Venue analysis
Venue is the legally proper location for a case. The court explained that a Social Security review action may generally be filed only in the federal district where the plaintiff resides or has a principal place of business, or, if neither applies, in the District of Columbia. Romero alleged that she resided in Kings County and did not allege a principal place of business.
The court stated that Kings County is within the Eastern District of New York. It therefore found that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York and that venue lay in the Eastern District of New York.
Ruling and 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 federal law allowing transfer when venue is improper. The Clerk was directed to mail Romero a copy of the order and transfer the action. The order states that the Southern District case was closed, that no summons would issue from that court, and that the transferee court would decide whether Romero could proceed without paying fees.
The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied no-fee status for purposes of an appeal. The court did not decide whether Romero was entitled to disability benefits or whether the Commissioner’s decision was legally correct.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.