Subbotovskiy v. Touro University
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-00716
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Subbotovskiy v. Touro University, Judge Swain transferred the pro se case to the Eastern District of New York because it was more convenient.
The transfer affects Yevgeniy Subbotovskiy’s action against Touro University and Touro Law Center by moving it from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York. The opinion does not decide the underlying federal or state-law claims.
What happened
In Subbotovskiy v. Touro University, Yevgeniy Subbotovskiy sued Touro University and Touro Law Center, alleging violations of federal and state law. He filed the case in the Southern District of New York and represented himself.
The court said venue could be proper in either the Southern or Eastern District of New York, but most of the events occurred at Touro Law Center in Suffolk County. The court also expected relevant witnesses and documents to be there, making the Eastern District a more convenient forum.
The court transferred the action to the Eastern District of New York under the federal transfer statute, closed the case in the Southern District, and directed that any request to proceed without paying filing fees be decided by the receiving court. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-free status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Subbotovskiy v. Touro University · No. 1:23-cv-00716
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 31, 2023
Background
Yevgeniy Subbotovskiy, who the opinion says lives in Brooklyn, New York, filed this action without a lawyer against Touro University and Touro Law Center. He invoked federal-question jurisdiction and alleged that the defendants violated his rights under federal and state law. The allegations arose from his being banned from Touro Law Center and Touro University after events that occurred while he was a student and later while he was studying for the bar examination.
Venue
The court explained that venue may be proper where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, in some circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction. The opinion says Touro University’s executive offices are in Manhattan and understands Touro Law Center to be in Central Islip, Suffolk County. Because Manhattan is in the Southern District of New York and Suffolk County is in the Eastern District of New York, the court concluded that venue could be proper in either district. It also concluded that venue was proper in the Eastern District because a substantial part of the events occurred at Touro Law Center in Suffolk County.
Transfer ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), a court may transfer a case to another district where it could have been brought when transfer would serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and the interests of justice. The court found transfer appropriate because most of the underlying events occurred in Suffolk County and relevant witnesses and documents could be located at Touro Law Center. It also gave less weight to Subbotovskiy’s choice of the Southern District because he does not live there and the operative events did not occur there.
The court ordered the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York and stated that the order closed the case in the Southern District. It further stated that the receiving court would decide whether Subbotovskiy could proceed without prepaying fees. No summons would issue from the Southern District. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.