Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-alnd-2_14-cv-02185/USCOURTS-alnd-2_14-cv-02185-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 864
Nature of Suit: Social Security - SSID Title XVI
Cause of Action: 42:405 Review of HHS Decision (SSID)

---

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

CIVIL ACTION NO. 13-10201-GAO

WILLIE HARRIS,

Plaintiff,

v.

CAROLYN W. COLVIN,

Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

November 7, 2014

O’TOOLE, D.J.

The plaintiff, Willie Harris, seeks review of a final decision of the Commissioner of the

Social Security Administration denying the plaintiff’s application for disability insurance 

benefits and supplemental security income. The defendant moved to dismiss the complaint 

pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3) or, in the alternative, to transfer the case to 

the Northern District of Alabama. The plaintiff has not opposed the motion.

Under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), actions seeking review of the Commissioner’s final decision 

“shall be brought in the district court of the United States for the judicial district in which the 

plaintiff resides, or has his principal place of business . . .” The plaintiff states that at the time of 

the agency hearing he resided in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. (Compl. ¶ 4 (dkt. no. 1).) 

However, the relevant inquiry under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) is the residence at the time the action is 

commenced.

The plaintiff filed his complaint with the assistance of a Massachusetts attorney. He 

simultaneously moved to proceed in forma pauperis and provided a residential address in 

Cleveland, Ohio. Social Security Administration records indicate that the plaintiff had moved to

Case 2:14-cv-02185-RDP Document 12 Filed 11/07/14 Page 1 of 2
2

Bessemer, Alabama by the time this action was commenced. Accordingly, it appears that venue 

properly lies in the Northern District of Alabama.

For the foregoing reasons, the defendant’s motion (dkt. no. 10) to dismiss or, in the 

alternative, for transfer is GRANTED, and the case is transferred to the Northern District of

Alabama, where venue is appropriate under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). 

It is SO ORDERED.

/s/ George A. O’Toole, Jr. 

United States District Judge

Case 2:14-cv-02185-RDP Document 12 Filed 11/07/14 Page 2 of 2