(SS) Gonzales 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 ROSEMARY GONZALES, Case No. 1:21-cv-01353-AWI-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 CASE COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL 15 SECURITY, (Doc. No. 22) 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 January 4, 2023. 20 (Doc. No. 22). Plaintiff Rosemary Gonzales and the Commissioner of Social Security agree that 21 this case should be remanded for further administrative proceedings under sentence four of 42 22 U.S.C. § 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 the Equal Access to Justice Act and calculating deadline using date of final judgment). The 27 Melkonyan court recognized 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) contemplates only two types of remand – 28 1 | sentence four or sentence six. Jd. at 98. A sentence four remand authorizes a court to enter “a 2 | judgment affirming, modifying, or reversing the decision of the Secretary, with or without 3 || resetting the cause for a rehearing.” Jd. (other citations omitted). 4 The Court grants the parties’ motion to remand under sentence four and reverses the 5 | Commissioner’s final decision. As agreed upon by the parties, upon remand, the Commissioner 6 | will further develop the record as necessary, and issue a new decision. 7 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 8 1. Pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C.§ 405(g), the Court grants the joint motion to 9 remand (Doc. No. 22) and REVERSES the Commissioner’s decision. This case is 10 REMANDED to the Commissioner of Social Security for further proceedings consistent 11 with this Order. 12 2. An application for attorney fees may be filed by separate motion. 13 | 3. Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 16) is MOOT. 14 | 4. The Clerk shall enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff, terminate any deadlines, and close 15 this case. 16 7 IT IS SO ORDERED. 1g | Dated: _ January 13, 2023 —= Z : Cb it — SENIOR DISTRICT JUDGE 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28