Dickson v. Albany Family Court
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-02239
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Dickson v. Albany Family Court, Judge Swain transferred the case to the Northern District of New York and denied fee-free appeal status.
Simone M. Dickson's case was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Northern District of New York. The Albany Family Court, Brittany Bisnott, Bob Meyers, and Alhagie B. Secka remain the named defendants; the receiving court must decide whether Dickson may proceed without prepaying fees.
What happened
In Dickson v. Albany Family Court, Simone M. Dickson, representing herself, sued the Albany Family Court, two of its magistrate judges, and a person described as a FedEx employee. She alleged that magistrate judges violated her rights.
Judge Swain explained that the claims arose in Albany County, which is in the Northern District of New York. She concluded that transferring the case there served convenience and the interests of justice because Dickson lives in Albany and the events occurred there.
Judge Swain ordered the case transferred to the Northern District of New York. She closed the case in the Southern District of New York, left any decision about proceeding without prepaying fees to the receiving court, and denied fee-free status for an appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Dickson v. Albany Family Court · No. 1:22-cv-02239
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 25, 2022
Background
Simone M. Dickson brought the action without a lawyer. She sued the Albany Family Court, Brittany Bisnott and Bob Meyers, identified as magistrate judges of that court, and Alhagie B. Secka, described only as a FedEx employee. She alleged, among other things, that magistrate judges in the Albany Family Court violated her rights.
Venue
Venue is the federal district where a civil case may properly be litigated. The court explained that a case may be brought where a substantial part of the events occurred or where the defendants reside under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). Dickson alleged that her claims arose in Albany Family Court, in Albany County, New York. Because Albany County is in the Northern District of New York, the court found that venue was proper there.
The court also stated that venue might be proper in the Southern District of New York because the defendants appeared to reside in New York and one defendant resided in the Southern District. The court treated the Albany Family Court as part of the New York State Unified Court System and therefore as a state defendant for purposes of its analysis.
Transfer
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), a federal court may transfer a case for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. The court considered that all underlying events occurred in Albany, where Dickson resides. It also concluded that Dickson’s choice of the Southern District of New York was entitled to less weight because she does not reside there and the events occurred outside that district.
Disposition
The court ordered the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. The order closed the case in the Southern District of New York. It stated that the transferee court would decide whether Dickson could continue without prepaying fees, and that no summons would issue from the Southern District of New York. The court certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.