Garcia v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec.

Full title: NORMA ALICIA GARCIA, Plaintiff, v. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY…

Court: United States District Court, Eastern District of California

Date published: Aug 3, 2021

1:20-cv-01746-HBK (E.D. Cal. Aug. 3, 2021)

Opinion

1:20-cv-01746-HBK

08-03-2021

NORMA ALICIA GARCIA, Plaintiff, v. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant.

HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHTA UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

ORDER APPROVING PARTIES' JOINT STIPULATION UNDER SENTENCE FOUR OF 42 U.S.C. § 405(G) AND REVERSING FINAL DECISION AND REMANDING CASE

(DOC. NO. 15)

HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHTA UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Pending before the Court is the parties' Stipulation for Remand filed July 30, 2021. (Doc. No. 15). Plaintiff Norma Alicia Garcia and the Commissioner of Social Security jointly stipulate to remand this case for further administrative proceedings under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) and for judgment to be entered in Plaintiff's favor. (Id.).

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).

Here, the parties' stipulation and proposed order notes that the instant case is related to Garcia v. Commissioner of SSA, No. 1:19-cv-001103-JLT (E.D. CA), which was recently remanded, and the parties sees a remand of the instant case under sentence four and reversal of the Commissioner's final decision. (Doc. 15 at 1-2). The parties further stipulate that on remand, the Appeals Council will instruct the administrative law judge to consolidate the two related cases(Id. at 1).

Accordingly, it is now ORDERED:

1. The Court APPROVES the parties' Joint Stipulation (Doc. No. 15).

2. The Commissioner of Social Security's decision is REVERSED, judgment shall be entered in favor of Plaintiff, and this case is REMANDED to the Commissioner of Social Security for further proceedings consistent with the parties' Joint Stipulation and this Order under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), sentence four.

3. The Clerk is respectfully requested to terminate any pending motions/deadlines and close this case.