Abdullah v. Albany Med. Center, D.O.C.C.S.
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-09065
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Abdullah v. Albany Med. Center, Chief Judge Swain transferred Abdullah’s constitutional-rights case to New York’s Northern District because venue was improper.
Ashraf Abdullah and the defendants named in his action, including Albany Medical Center, DOCCS, and the identified and unidentified defendants connected with the correctional facilities and medical center. The case was moved from the Southern District of New York to the Northern District of New York.
What happened
In Abdullah v. Albany Med. Center, Ashraf Abdullah, representing himself, sued Albany Medical Center, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and individual defendants under a federal civil-rights law. He alleged that defendants violated his constitutional rights during his incarceration at Eastern Correctional Facility.
The court said Abdullah did not state where the defendants lived, but his allegations concerned events at facilities and a medical center in Ulster, Albany, and Franklin Counties. All three counties are in the Northern District of New York, so the Southern District of New York was not the proper venue.
The court transferred the action to the Northern District of New York in the interest of justice and closed the Southern District case. It left any decision about proceeding without prepaying filing fees to the receiving court, and Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied fee-free status for any appeal.
The detailed version
- Abdullah v. Albany Med. Center, D.O.C.C.S. · No. 1:22-cv-09065
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 27, 2022
Background
Ashraf Abdullah, who was incarcerated at Auburn Correctional Facility and represented himself, brought an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing claims for violations of constitutional rights by state actors. He named Albany Medical Center; the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS); several identified employees and officials connected with Eastern Correctional Facility and DOCCS; and various unidentified defendants employed at Eastern Correctional Facility or Albany Medical Center. He alleged that defendants violated his federal constitutional rights while he was incarcerated at Eastern Correctional Facility.
Venue analysis
The court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), which identifies the federal districts where a civil action may be filed. Abdullah did not plead any defendant’s residence. The complaint instead alleged that events occurred at Eastern Correctional Facility, Albany Medical Center, and possibly Upstate Correctional Facility. The court stated that these locations are in Ulster, Albany, and Franklin Counties, respectively, and that all three counties are within the Northern District of New York. It therefore concluded that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York under the residence or events-based venue provisions.
Disposition
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), a court may transfer a case filed in the wrong venue when transfer serves the interest of justice. The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. The clerk was directed to make the transfer, no summons was to issue from the Southern District, and the Southern District case was closed. The transferee court was left to decide whether Abdullah could proceed without prepaying fees. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal. The order addressed venue and related filing matters; it did not decide whether Abdullah’s constitutional claims were valid. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.