(SS)Castaneda v. Commissioner of Social Security ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ CASTANEDA, Case No. 1:23-cv-00764-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. 21) 16 Defendant. ORDER MOOTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT 17 (Doc. No. 14) 18 19 20 Pending before the Court is the parties’ joint motion to remand filed November 27, 2023. 21 (Doc. No. 21). Plaintiff Juan Carlos Lopez Castaneda and the Commissioner of Social Security 22 agree that this case should be remanded for further administrative proceedings under sentence 23 four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). (Id.). 24 The United States Supreme Court held that the Social Security Act permits remand in 25 conjunction with a judgment either affirming, reversing, or modifying the Secretary’s decision. 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 | See Melkonyan vy. Sullivan, 501 U.S. 89, 97-98 (1991) (addressing issue of attorney’s fees under 2 | the Equal Access to Justice Act and calculating deadline using date of final judgment). The 3 | Melkonyan court recognized 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) contemplates only two types of remand — 4 | sentence four or sentence six. Jd. at 98. A sentence four remand authorizes a court to enter “a 5 | judgment affirming, modifying, or reversing the decision of the Secretary, with or without 6 || resetting the cause for a rehearing.” Jd. (other citations omitted). 7 The Court grants the parties’ motion to remand under sentence four and reverses the 8 | Commissioner’s final decision. As agreed upon by the parties, upon remand, the Commissioner 9 | will re-evaluate Plaintiff's subjective complaints, offer Plaintiff the opportunity for a new 10 | hearing, take any further action needed to complete the administrative record, and issue a new 11 | decision. 12 Accordingly, it is ORDERED: 13 1. Pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C.§ 405(g), the Court grants the joint motion to 14 remand (Doc. No. 21) and REVERSES the Commissioner’s decision. This case is 15 REMANDED to the Commissioner of Social Security for further proceedings 16 consistent with this Order. 17 2. A motion for attorney fees may be filed within thirty (30) days. 18 3. Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 14) is MOOT. 19 4. The Clerk shall enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff, terminate any deadlines, and close 20 this case. 21 22 Dated: _ November 28, 2023 law ZA. foareh Back 23 HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHTA UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 25 26 27 28