Kushner v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec.

354 F. Supp. 3d 797
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJanuary 9, 2019
DocketCase No. 17-cv-10072
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 354 F. Supp. 3d 797 (Kushner v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kushner v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 354 F. Supp. 3d 797 (E.D. Mich. 2019).

Opinion

R. STEVEN WHALEN, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Plaintiff Jordan Kushner ("Plaintiff") brings this action under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) challenging a final decision of Defendant Commissioner ("Defendant") terminating his Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") under Title XVI of the Social Security Act. Parties have filed cross motions for summary judgment which have been referred for a Report and Recommendation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B). For the reasons set forth below, I recommend that Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment [Docket # 25] be DENIED, that Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment [Docket # 21] be STAYED, and that the case be REMANDED for further proceedings under the sixth sentence of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).1

*800I. PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND

This case has a tangled history. Plaintiff, born December 6, 1964, began receiving SSI in January, 1983 due to congenital brain damage causing severe intellectual deficits (Tr. 42, 171, 173, 176, 121). Plaintiff's father, Alvin Kushner was named representative payee2 (Tr. 42, 173-174). In August, 1988, Plaintiff became eligible for Disabled Adult Child ("DAC") Retirement Survivor Disability Insurance ("RSDI") based on his father's earnings (Tr. 42, 176). In April, 1992, Plaintiff was approved to participate in SSA's program to achieve self-support ("PASS") which allowed him to work while maintaining SSI eligibility (Tr. 42, 180, 188-190). Under PASS, Plaintiff was authorized to set aside some of his monthly income while continuing to receive SSI (Tr. 52-54).

On March 14, 1994, Alvin Kushner authorized Marsha Katz ("Katz"), who worked for the Association for Community Advocacy ("ACA") to communicate with the SSA on Plaintiff's behalf (Tr. 42, 56). The authorization allowed Katz to communicate for one year or for as long as required to resolve Plaintiff's issues with SSI and/or PASS (Tr. 42). On March 15, 1994, Katz informed the SSA that Plaintiff was currently not employed and requested that Plaintiff's participation in PASS be terminated (Tr. 42, 57). Katz stated that she expected that Plaintiff would receive "a revised/amended PASS plan" (Tr. 57).

In March, 1995, Alvin Kushner was removed as representative payee after declaring bankruptcy (Tr. 42, 204). The following month, Katz submitted a new PASS proposal (Tr. 42). In response, the SSA informed Katz that an additional meeting was required concerning the PASS application and that Plaintiff would be receiving SSI benefits directly since the father was no longer the representative payee (Tr. 42, 61).

Plaintiff's participation in PASS continued, but in February, 1996, a total of approximately $ 7,000 was discovered in three of his bank accounts (Tr. 42, 172). Although correspondence from the SSA during that time was sent to Katz on behalf of Plaintiff, Katz did not respond to a May 24, 1996 request for an accounting of expenditures and warning that the failure to provide PASS expenditures and income could result in the cessation of SSI benefits3 (Tr. 68-69). Plaintiff was ultimately deemed ineligible for SSI benefits as of February, 1996 due to "excess resources"

*801of approximately $ 7,000 in various bank accounts (Tr. 42, 68-71). The overpayment of past benefits was calculated at $ 9,796.30 (Tr. 42). SSA began withholding portions of Plaintiff's benefits received under RSDI to recover the amount (Tr. 75).

Following a July 20, 2007 request, Plaintiff's sister, Stephanie Kushner, was appointed as Plaintiff's representative payee (Tr. 43, 89). On May 20, 2008, social worker Ann Carrelas requested a hearing on Plaintiff's behalf, disputing whether the 1996 cessation of benefits was proper4 (Tr. 43, 96-98, 100). On June 4, 2008, Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") Bennett S. Engelman found that the issue of whether the termination of SSI was proper required further development (Tr. 43, 104-105). The reconsideration was never processed (Tr. 112).

On June 19, 2013, Plaintiff, through attorney Sarah Beach Sobczak ("Sobezak"), made a second request for a decision (Tr. 43). On July 6, 2013, the cessation of SSI was affirmed (Tr. 43, 106). On August 13, 2013, Sobczak requested a hearing before an ALJ (Tr. 43, 109, 115). In pre-hearing submissions, Sobczak argued that Plaintiff's SSI ought not to have been terminated, contending that the money found in Plaintiff's bank accounts in 1996 were not "excess resources" but instead were either exempt PASS or RSDI/SSI funds, or attributable to the prior mismanagement of Plaintiff's finances by his father (Tr. 114, 116, 156-161). She argued that Plaintiff was entitled to restoration of his Medicaid coverage and to challenge the overpayment of benefits (Tr. 155). She noted that the 1996 cessation of SSI prevented Plaintiff from receiving continued Medicaid coverage as of his father's April 4, 2006 death (Tr. 155, 298, 309). She noted that had Plaintiff receiving SSI as of his father's death, he would be eligible to continued Medicaid despite an increase in RSDI benefits triggered by his father's death (Tr. 156). She noted that even prior to the January, 1995 bankruptcy filing by Plaintiff's father, the father "was not able to manage [Plaintiff's] funds" due to the father's "mental health disability" (Tr. 158).

Plaintiff appeared at an administrative hearing on March 24, 2014 (Tr. 43, 285). ALJ Dennis M. Matulewicz presided (Tr. 43, 51). Stephanie Kushner testified that Plaintiff had been living with her since 2004 when he was diagnosed with cancer (Tr. 291). She testified that she knew "nothing" of Plaintiff's former participation in the PASS program (Tr. 291).

In a partially favorable decision on April 29, 2014, ALJ Matulewicz found that (1) the determination that Plaintiff had excess resources justifying the cession of benefits was correct and that (2) Plaintiff received "proper notice" and "due process" pertaining to the cessation of benefits (Tr. 43, 50). However, ALJ Matulewicz found that recovery of overpayment to that date was not waived but the balance remaining on the overpayment was waived because Plaintiff was "without fault" in the improper receipt of benefits (Tr. 43, 50). On November 8, 2016, the Appeals Council overruled ALJ Matulewicz's finding that Plaintiff was ineligible for SSI due to overpayment as of February, 1996, finding instead that he became ineligible in October, 1997 (Tr. 28-29). The Appeals Council upheld ALJ Matulewicz's finding that Plaintiff received due process and *802was adequately represented during the cessation proceedings (Tr. 25-29).

Plaintiff filed suit in this Court on January 10, 2017. The case was remanded for recovery of a missing document on June 19, 2017.

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354 F. Supp. 3d 797, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kushner-v-commr-of-soc-sec-mied-2019.