(SS) Lopez v. Commissioner of Social Security ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JOHN PAUL LOPEZ, Case No. 1:20-cv-01755-HBK 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING PARTIES’ STIPULATED MOTION TO REMAND 13 v. UNDER SENTENCE FOUR OF 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), REVERSING FINAL DECISION AND 14 KILOLO KIJAKAZI, ACTING REMANDING CASE1 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL 15 SECURITY, (Doc. No. 19) 16 Defendant. ORDER MOOTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT 17 (Doc. No. 16) 18 19 Pending before the Court is the parties’ joint motion to remand filed September 13, 2022. 20 (Doc. No. 19). Plaintiff John Paul Lopez and the Commissioner of Social Security agree that this 21 case should be remanded for further administrative proceedings under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. 22 § 405(g). (Id.). 23 The United States Supreme Court held that the Social Security Act permits remand in 24 conjunction with a judgment either affirming, reversing, or modifying the Secretary’s decision. 25 See Melkonyan v. Sullivan, 501 U.S. 89, 97-98 (1991) (addressing issue of attorney’s fees under 26 1 Both parties have consented to the jurisdiction of a magistrate judge in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 27 §636(c)(1). (Doc. No. 10). 28 1 | the Equal Access to Justice Act and calculating deadline using date of final judgment). The 2 | Melkonyan court recognized 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) contemplates only two types of remand — 3 | sentence four or sentence six. Jd. at 98. A sentence four remand authorizes a court to enter “a 4 | judgment affirming, modifying, or reversing the decision of the Secretary, with or without 5 || resetting the cause for a rehearing.” Jd. (other citations omitted). 6 The Court grants the parties’ motion to remand under sentence four and reverses the 7 | Commissioner’s final decision. As agreed upon by the parties, upon remand, the Administrative 8 || Law Judge should further develop the record as necessary, offer Plaintiff the opportunity for a 9 | new hearing, and issue a new decision. 10 Accordingly, it is ORDERED: 11 1. Pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C.§ 405(g), the Court grants the joint motion to 12 | remand (Doc. No. 19) and REVERSES the Commissioner’s decision. This case is REMANDED 13 | to the Commissioner of Social Security for further proceedings consistent with this Order. 14 2. An application for attorney fees may be filed by separate motion. 15 3. Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 16) is MOOT. 16 3. The Clerk shall enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff, terminate any deadlines, and close 17 || this case. 18 '? | Dated: _ September 14, 2022 Mile. Wh. foareh Zaskth 20 HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHTA 1 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 22 23 24 25 26 27 28