Opinion
21-CV-3617 (JMF) (DCF)
04-26-2021
MAYA IONE DELRIO FREEMAN, Plaintiff, v. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant.
ORDER OF SERVICE & SCHEDULING ORDER
JESSE M. FURMAN, United States District Judge:
The Clerk of Court shall notify the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York of the filing of this pro se case, brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), for which the filing fee has been waived. In accordance with this District's Standing Order governing pro se challenges to denials of social security benefits (see In re: Mots. J. Pleadings Social Sec. Cases, 16-MC-0171), the following briefing schedule applies:
• Within 90 days of service, the Commissioner must serve and file the Electronic Certified Administrative Record (e-CAR), which will constitute the Commissioner's answer, or otherwise move against the complaint.
• If the Commissioner wishes to file a motion for judgment on the pleadings, the Commissioner must do so within 60 days of the date on which the e-CAR was filed. The motion must contain a full recitation of the relevant facts and a full description of the underlying administrative proceeding.
• The plaintiff must file an answering brief within 60 days of the filing of the Commissioner's motion.
• The Commissioner may file a reply within 21 days thereafter.
• Generally, memoranda in support of or in opposition to any dispositive motion may not exceed 25 pages in length; reply memoranda may not exceed ten pages in length. A party seeking to exceed these page limitations must apply to the Court for leave to do so, with copies to all counsel, no fewer than seven days before the date on which the memorandum is due.
In addition, by separate Order today, the Court is referring this case to the assigned Magistrate Judge for a report and recommendation on any motion for judgment on the pleadings. Magistrate Judges are judges selected by the District Judges to serve for terms of eight years. Magistrate Judges are highly qualified and very experienced.
To conserve resources, to promote judicial efficiency, and in an effort to achieve a faster disposition of this matter, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties must discuss whether they are willing to consent, under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), to conducting all further proceedings before the assigned Magistrate Judge. If the parties consent to having the Magistrate Judge decide the case, the Magistrate Judge replaces the District Judge, thereby speeding up the resolution of the case (because only one judge instead of two will be involved in the case). Any appeal from a Magistrate Judge's decision following consent is directly to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the same way that an appeal from a District Judge's decision would be taken. By contrast, if the parties do not consent to having the Magistrate Judge decide the case, the Magistrate Judge will first issue a Report and Recommendation, and the District Judge will then consider any objections either party has to the Report and Recommendation before a final judgment is entered, at which point an appeal to the Second Circuit could be taken.
If both parties consent to proceed before the Magistrate Judge, counsel for Defendant must, within two weeks of the date on which Defendant enters an appearance, either mail or email to FurmanNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov a fully executed Notice, Consent, and Reference of a Civil Action to a Magistrate Judge form, a copy of which is attached to this Order (and also available at https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/node/754). If the Court approves that form, all further proceedings will then be conducted before the assigned Magistrate Judge rather than before the undersigned. An information sheet on proceedings before magistrate judges is also attached to this Order.
If you do not consent to having the Magistrate Judge decide your case, there will be no adverse consequences. If either party does not consent to conducting all further proceedings before the assigned Magistrate Judge, the parties must file a joint letter, within two weeks of the date on which Defendant enters an appearance advising the Court that the parties do not consent, but without disclosing the identity of the party or parties who do not consent.
The Clerk of the Court is directed to mail a copy of this Order to Plaintiff.
SO ORDERED
United States Magistrate Judges: Referrals and Consents
All cases in the Southern District of New York are assigned to two judges: a district judge and a magistrate judge. District judges are appointed for life terms by the President. Magistrate judges are selected by a majority vote of the district judges in the particular district and serve terms of eight years.
Referrals to the Magistrate Judge. The district judge assigned to your case may refer the case to a magistrate judge for specific purposes. Commonly, the referral will be for the magistrate judge to conduct the proceedings that occur before trial, such as resolving discovery disputes or presiding over settlement conferences. A referral may also be made for the magistrate judge to issue to the district judge a report and recommendation on how to resolve a motion, such as a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment. The consent of the parties is not needed for the district judge to refer the case to the magistrate judge for these purposes. If the district judge has made such a referral, you can ask the district judge to review any magistrate judge's decision by filing an objection with the district judge within fourteen days of that decision. The district judge will rule on any timely objections that you file. If you do not file an objection, you will give up your right to challenge the magistrate judge's decision at a later time, including on appeal. See Rule 72 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Consent to Proceed Before the Magistrate Judge. If you would like your case to move more quickly, it is helpful to consent to proceed before the magistrate judge for all purposes, including any trial. If you consent, the magistrate judge will perform the identical function that the district judge would have performed. Any trial in your case would be either a jury or a nonjury trial, depending upon whether there is a right to a jury trial and a proper request for such a trial. The only difference is that the magistrate judge - and not the district judge - would preside over that trial. Cases that proceed for all purposes before a magistrate judge generally move more quickly than cases before a district judge. If you consent to proceed before the magistrate judge, the district judge plays no further role in the case. Any appeal is taken directly to the Court of Appeals. It is your choice whether or not to consent to proceed before the magistrate judge, and all parties must consent or the case will not proceed before the magistrate judge.
A copy of the appropriate consent form is attached. Additional forms are also available from the Pro Se Office and on the Court's website.
THE DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN., UNITED STATES COURT HOUSE
THE CHARLES L. BRIEANT, JR., UNITED STATES COURT HOUSE