Davis v. Astrue

874 F. Supp. 2d 856, 2012 WL 465105, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17744
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedFebruary 13, 2012
DocketNos. C-06-6108 EMC, C-09-0980 EMC
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 874 F. Supp. 2d 856 (Davis v. Astrue) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davis v. Astrue, 874 F. Supp. 2d 856, 2012 WL 465105, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17744 (N.D. Cal. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

EDWARD M. CHEN, District Judge.

Plaintiffs have sued the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (“SSA”), asserting claims for violation of the Rehabilitation Act. According to Plaintiffs, SSA has violated the Rehabilitation Act by failing to make the work reviews under Title II and Title XVI accessible to individuals with mental or developmental disabilities. See Docket No. 162 (Pis.’ Mot. for Summ. Judg. (“MSJ”) at 2)1. Currently pending before the Court is the SSA’s motion for summary judgment. In the motion, SSA argues that Plaintiffs lack standing to assert their claims. SSA further argues that, based on the deposition testimony of Plaintiffs, the Court lacks jurisdiction over their cases. Having considered the parties’ briefs and accompanying submissions, as well as the oral argument of counsel, the Court hereby DENIES SSA’s motion.

I. FACTUAL & PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

This case has a complicated procedural background. Mr. Davis’s case was initi[858]*858ated in September 2006, and Mr. Doe’s case in March 2009. In each case, SSA filed a Rule 12(b) motion to dismiss based on, inter alia, a claimed lack of standing and subject matter jurisdiction. In each case, Judge Patel rejected SSA’s standing and jurisdiction arguments. Judge Patel found standing based on the emotional distress suffered by Plaintiffs. See Davis Docket No. 26 (Order at 11); Doe Docket No. 26 (Order at 17). With respect to jurisdiction, she determined that the Rehabilitation Act claims were sufficiently distinct from the underlying benefits claims that exhaustion of the benefits claims would not assist in resolution of the Rehabilitation Act claims. See Davis Docket No. 26 (Order at 11); Doe Docket No. 26 (Order at 11). As Judge Patel explained in the Doe case, even if SSA ruled in Mr. Doe’s favor on his claim for benefits, he still would have a valid cause of action under the Rehabilitation Act. See Doe Docket No. 26 (Order at 11).

Notably, Mr. Davis’s case (but not Mr. Doe’s) was initially filed as a class action. Well before Mr. Doe filed his suit, Mr. Davis moved for class certification. See Docket No. 55 (motion). Judge Patel denied the motion but gave Mr. Davis leave to re-file it if, he could, within a certain time period

1) set forth sufficient admissible evidence to satisfy the numerosity requirement; 2) associate an experienced federal class-action attorney; and 3) either bring forth representative plaintiffs from other parts of the country who have suffered similar harm resulting from their respective SSA office policies or bring forth admissible evidence that the policies applied by the San Francisco office are applied by all SSA district offices nationwide.

Docket No. 74 (Order at 24). Mr. Davis never re-filed and instead filed an amended complaint which no longer included class allegations. See Docket No. 86 (fourth amended complaint). Several months after Mr. Davis filed his amended complaint, Mr. Doe initiated his lawsuit, which, as noted above, also contained no class allegations.

In August 2010, Plaintiffs filed an early motion for summary judgment pursuant to Judge Patel’s directive that they do so. See Doeket No. 146 (Tr. at 28); Docket No. 170 (Pyle Deck, Ex. 1) (Tr. at 6). Apparently, Judge Patel wanted Plaintiffs to file a summary judgment motion so that Plaintiffs would have to clearly state what relief they wanted from the Court. Judge Patel had concerns that Plaintiffs would be asking for “expansive” relief that went “way beyond” Plaintiffs themselves. Docket No. 170 (Pyle Deck, Ex. 1) (Tr. at 6).

Based on Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, it appears that Plaintiffs’ Rehabilitation Act claim concerns the SSA’s alleged failure to make the work reviews under Title II and Title XVI accessible to individuals with mental or developmental disabilities. The parties do not dispute that work reviews are reviews that take place after an individual has been deemed disabled and granted benefits under Title II and/or Title XVI. See Docket No. 162 (Pis.’ MSJ at 5); Docket No. 169 (Def.’s Opp’n at 5, 7). Essentially, work reviews are conducted by SSA to ensure that beneficiaries are not earning above a certain income level; if they are, then benefits may be terminated, suspended, and/or reduced. See Docket No. 162 (Pis.’ MSJ at 6, 8); Docket No. 169 (Def.’s Opp’n at 5, 7).

Under both Title II and Title XVI, there are “work incentives.” Essentially, work incentives are “[sjpecial rules [that] make it possible for people with disabilities receiving Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to work and still [859]*859receive monthly payments and Medicare or Medicaid.” http://y/ww.ssa.gov/disability research/wi/generalinfo.htm (last visited on 2/13/2012). One example of a work incentive is an impairment-related work expense (“IRWE”). An IRWE is an expense that a beneficiary incurs that is essential for his or her work. Such expenses are not “counted” in a work review as a part of the beneficiary’s earnings. See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1576(a) (“When we figure your earnings in deciding if you have done substantial gainful activity, we will subtract the reasonable costs to you of certain items and services which, because of your impairment(s), you need and use to enable you to work.”); 20 C.F.R. § 416.976(a) (“When we figure your earnings in deciding if you have done substantial gainful activity, and in determining your countable earned income (see § 416.1112(c)(5)), we will subtract the reasonable costs to you of certain items and services which, because of your impairment(s), you need and use to enable you to work.”). Thus, in a work review, if a beneficiary has a work incentive such as an IRWE, he or she may have earnings that do not exceed the income level set by SSA and continue to obtain disability insurance benefits under Title II or SSI under Title XVI.

According to Plaintiffs, SSA has failed to make the work reviews under Title II and Title XVI accessible to individuals with mental or developmental disabilities because, e.g., SSA has failed to train its employees (claims representatives) on how to conduct work reviews when the persons being reviewed have mental or developmental disabilities (e.g., what work incentives may be applicable), SSA has failed to train its employees on how to communicate with persons with such disabilities, and SSA has failed to modify its forms to make them understandable to persons with such disabilities. See Docket No. 162 (Pis.’ MSJ at 2, 21-24).

In their motion for summary judgment, Plaintiffs argue that, to comply with the Rehabilitation Act, SSA must make the following modifications:

(1) Evaluate, monitor, and track individuals with mental or developmental disabilities so that SSA employees are aware of (a) the individuals’ disabilities, (b) the associated functional limitations, and (c) the need for reasonable accommodations. Plaintiffs propose that, when a claimant first applies for Title II and/or Title XVI benefits, SSA should evaluate the individual’s ability to understand written and oral communications, etc.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
874 F. Supp. 2d 856, 2012 WL 465105, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17744, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davis-v-astrue-cand-2012.