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Thornberry v. Kijakazi

United States District Court, Eastern District of California
Jun 10, 2022
1:21-cv-00543-AWI-HBK (E.D. Cal. Jun. 10, 2022)

Opinion

1:21-cv-00543-AWI-HBK

06-10-2022

JENNIFER THORNBERRY, Plaintiff, v. KILOLO KIJAKAZI, ACTING COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 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. 13)

Pending before the Court is the Parties' Joint Motion to Remand filed June 6, 2022. (Doc. No. 13). Plaintiff Jennifer Thornberry 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.).

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 under sentence four and reverses the Commissioner's final decision. On remand, the prior ALJ decision will be vacated, and the agency will issue a new decision.

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C.§ 405(g), the Court grants the joint motion to remand (Doc. No. 13) and REVERSES the Commissioner's decision. This case is REMANDED to the Commissioner of Social Security for further proceedings consistent with this Order.

2. An application for attorney fees may be filed by separate motion.

3. The Clerk shall enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff, terminate any pending motions and deadlines, and close this case.

IT IS SO ORDERED.


Summaries of

Thornberry v. Kijakazi

United States District Court, Eastern District of California
Jun 10, 2022
1:21-cv-00543-AWI-HBK (E.D. Cal. Jun. 10, 2022)
Case details for

Thornberry v. Kijakazi

Case Details

Full title:JENNIFER THORNBERRY, Plaintiff, v. KILOLO KIJAKAZI, ACTING COMMISSIONER OF…

Court:United States District Court, Eastern District of California

Date published: Jun 10, 2022

Citations

1:21-cv-00543-AWI-HBK (E.D. Cal. Jun. 10, 2022)