San Pedro v. Kijakazi
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Karen S. Crawford (author)
Analysis
The parties filed a joint motion for voluntary remand to the Social Security Administration under Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) after failing to resolve the case through meet-and-confer. The court granted the motion, ordered the agency to vacate the ALJ's decision and remand the case for further development of the record, and directed the Clerk to enter judgment in favor of the plaintiff.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Grant of Joint Motion for Voluntary Remand to Agency Pursuant to Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) and Entry of Judgment“Having reviewed the Complaint and the parties’ Joint Motion, the Court GRANTS the Joint Motion.” | agree with court The court correctly granted the joint motion. Sentence Four remands are a standard mechanism in Social Security litigation where parties agree to return the case to the agency for further proceedings. The court properly noted the procedural history (failed meet-and-confer) and the specific relief requested (vacating the ALJ decision and remanding for record development). The order to enter judgment in favor of the plaintiff is consistent with the grant of the remand. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It accurately reflects the parties' joint motion, cites the correct statutory authority for the remand (Sentence Four of § 405(g)), and correctly applies the Equal Access to Justice Act and Ninth Circuit precedent regarding the timing of fee applications. There are no gaps in the reasoning because the decision is based on the parties' agreement rather than a contested legal issue.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ELEONOR S.P., Case No.: 22cv324 12 Plaintiff, Order on Joint Motion For Voluntary 13 v. Remand to Agency Pursuant to Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) 14 KILOLO KIJAKAZI, and Entry of Judgment [Doc. No. 12] 15 Defendant. 16 17 Plaintiff Eleonor S.P. filed this action challenging the final decision of the 18 Commissioner of Social Security denying plaintiff’s claim for benefits. Doc. No. 1. This 19 Court directed the parties to explore informal resolution of the matter through the meet- 20 and-confer process, but the parties were unable to resolve the case on their own by the date 21 set by the Court. See Doc. Nos. 10, 11. Nonetheless, on September 30, 2022, the parties 22 filed a Joint Motion for Voluntary Remand to [the] Agency Pursuant to Sentence Four of 23 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) and Entry of Judgment. Doc No. 12. 24 Having reviewed the Complaint and the parties’ Joint Motion, the Court GRANTS 25 the Joint Motion. Upon remand, the Agency will vacate the decision of the Administrative 26 Law Judge (“ALJ”) and remand the case to the Agency to further develop the record and 27 issue a new decision. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to enter a final judgment in favor 28 of plaintiff, and against defendant, reversing the final decision of the Commissioner and 1 ||remanding this action to the Agency. The entry of judgment will begin the running of the 2 || thirty-day period for which plaintiff, as the prevailing party, may make a timely application 3 ||for attorneys’ fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. See 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B); 4 || Akopyan v. Barnhart, 296 F.3d 852, 854 (9th Cir. 2002). 5 IT IS SO ORDERED. 6 || Dated: October 4, 2022 AA ™ g Hori. Karen 8S. Crawford 9 United States Magistrate Judge 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28