Opinion
CIVIL 1:21-cv-03296-RMI
08-11-2021
KRYSTLE N. TESKEY, Plaintiff, v. KILOLO KIJAKAZI, [1] Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant.
STEPHANIE HINDS, CSBN 154284 Acting United States Attorney DEBORAH L. STACHEL, CSBN 230138 Regional Chief Counsel, Region IX Social Security Administration ANDREA BANKS, CSBN 275286 Special Assistant United States Attorney Attorneys for Defendant ANDREA BANKS Special Assistant United States Attorney Attorneys for Defendant
STEPHANIE HINDS, CSBN 154284 Acting United States Attorney DEBORAH L. STACHEL, CSBN 230138 Regional Chief Counsel, Region IX Social Security Administration ANDREA BANKS, CSBN 275286 Special Assistant United States Attorney Attorneys for Defendant
ANDREA BANKS Special Assistant United States Attorney Attorneys for Defendant
PROPOSED ORDER AND [UNOPPOSED] MOTION FOR
EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE THE
ELECTRONIC CERTIFIED
ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD AND
ANSWER TO PLAINTIFF'S COMPLAINT
ROBERT M. ILLMAN U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Defendant, Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of Social Security (the “Commissioner”), by and through her undersigned attorneys, hereby moves for a 35 day extension of time to file Defendant's Electronic Certified Administrative Record and Answer to Plaintiff's Complaint by September 21, 2021. On August 11, 2021, the undersigned counsel for the Commissioner has confirmed this case is in line to be processed by the agency. More time is needed for the agency to respond to Plaintiff's complaint due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, SSA has taken the unprecedented step of suspending in-office services to the public: https://www.ssa.gov/coronavirus/. For purposes of this particular case, the public health emergency pandemic has significantly impacted operations in the Social Security Administration's Office of Appellate Operations (OAO) in Falls Church, Virginia. That office is responsible for physically producing the administrative record that is required to adjudicate the case under Sections 205(g) and (h) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) and (h). See SSA Program Operations Manual System GN 03106.025.
The agency has updated its declaration explaining this delay. As shown in the attached declaration from June 14, 2021, the agency continues to add staff and augment the vender capacity to try to increase the speed of processing transcripts. The agency has processed more transcripts in the first quarter of FY 2021 (over 5000 cases), than it did in either the first quarters of FY 2020 and FY 2019. However, delays remain and the agency needs more time in this case. The agency is prioritizing older cases first, and once the agency receives the eCAR, the undersigned counsel will review it and file it with the Court.
If a Court issues an order limiting the agency's time to process these cases, the agency then needs to divert already strained and finite resources from its current process to try to accommodate such one-off orders. Although overall the timeframe for delivering an administrative record has improved, the backlog, prioritizing aged cases, and contractor capacity continue to cause some delays.
Given the volume of pending cases and the continued constraints, Defendant requests a 35 day extension in which to respond to the Complaint until September 21, 2021. On August 11, 2021, Defendant contacted Plaintiffs counsel about this extension request and Plaintiffs counsel does not oppose the extension.