Opinion
1:21-cv-00582-HBK
04-22-2022
CRYSTAL MARSHALL, Plaintiff, v. KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING PARTIES' JOINT MOTION TO REMAND UNDER SENTENCE FOUR OF 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), REVERSING FINAL DECISION AND REMANDING CASE (DOC. NO. 15)
Both parties have consented to the jurisdiction of a magistrate judge, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §636(c)(1). (Doc. No. 9).
ORDER FINDING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOOT (Doc. No. 13)
HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHA, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.
Pending before the Court is the parties' Joint Motion to Remand filed on April 21, 2022 (Doc. No. 15). Plaintiff Crystal Marshall and the Commissioner of Social Security agree that this case should be remanded for further administrative proceedings under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). (Id. at 1).
The United States Supreme Court held that the Social Security Act permits remand in conjunction with a judgment either affirming, reversing, or modifying the Secretary's decision. See Melkonyan v. Sullian, 501 U.S. 89, 97-98 (1991) (addressing issue of attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act and calculating deadline using date of final judgment). The Melkonyan Court recognized 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) contemplates only two types of remand -sentence four or sentence six. Id. at 98. A sentence four remand authorizes a court to enter “a judgment affirming, modifying, or reversing the decision of the Secretary, with or without resetting the cause for a rehearing.” Id. at 98 (other citations omitted).
The Court grants the parties' motion to remand. As agreed by the parties, upon remand to the Administrative Law Judge, the office of hearing operations will “instruct the ALJ to reevaluate the evidence of record.” (Doc. No. 15 at 1).
Accordingly, it is ORDERED:
1. The parties' Joint Motion to Remand (Doc. No. 15) is GRANTED and this case is REMANDED back to the Commissioner of Social Security for further proceedings consistent with this Order.
2. A motion for attorneys' fees may be filed by separate motion.
3. Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 13) is MOOT.
4. The Clerk shall enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff, terminate all deadlines, and close this case.