Hankerson v. Safe Horizon
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-01600
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hankerson v. Safe Horizon, Judge Swain transferred the action to the Eastern District of New York after Hankerson’s response did not show why transfer should not occur.
Theresa Ann Hankerson and the defendants, including Safe Horizon; the action was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York.
What happened
In Hankerson v. Safe Horizon, Theresa Ann Hankerson, who was representing herself, responded to the court’s order asking why the case should not be transferred to the Eastern District of New York. The court found that her letter did not provide enough facts to justify keeping the case in the Southern District of New York.
The court therefore transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. It directed the clerk to carry out the transfer, said that summonses would not be issued from the Southern District, and closed the action there.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Hankerson permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Hankerson v. Safe Horizon · No. 1:24-cv-01600
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 8, 2024
Background
Theresa Ann Hankerson filed this action against Safe Horizon and other defendants. The opinion states that Hankerson was representing herself. The court had previously granted her permission to proceed without paying filing fees.
On March 29, 2024, the court ordered Hankerson to explain, by declaration, why the case should not be transferred under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Hankerson responded with a letter filed on April 3, 2024. The court found that the letter did not allege facts sufficient to show why the transfer should not occur.
Ruling
For the reasons stated in its March 29 order, the court transferred the action to the Eastern District of New York, citing 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b)(2) and 1404(a). Section 1404(a) permits a federal court to transfer a civil action to another federal district when the statutory requirements for transfer are met.
The court directed the clerk to transfer the action. It also ordered that summonses not issue from the Southern District of New York and stated that the order closed the action in that court. This was a venue decision; the opinion does not report a decision on the underlying claims.
Appeal-related ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Hankerson permission to proceed without paying filing fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.