(SS) Kajitani v. Commissioner of Social Security

• Court: District Court, E.D. California
• Decided: May 8, 2024
• Docket: 1:24-cv-00296
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 CATHERINE ANN KAJITANI, Case No. 1:24-cv-00296-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 MARTIN O’MALLEY, REMANDING CASE1 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL 15 SECURITY, (Doc. No. 12)

16 Defendant. 17 18 19 Pending before the Court is the parties’ joint motion to remand filed May 7, 2024. (Doc. 20 No. 12). Plaintiff Catherine Ann Kajitani 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. 6).

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. /d. 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 Commissioner 8 | will take any necessary action to complete the administrative record, offer Plaintiff a new hearing, 9 | re-evaluate Plaintiff's subjective complaints, re-evaluate Plaintiff's RFC, continue through the 10 | sequential evaluation process, to include obtaining vocational evidence, as necessary, and issue a 11 || new 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. 12) 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. The Clerk shall enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff, terminate any deadlines, and close 19 this case. 20 | Dated: _ May 8, 2024 Mile. Wh. foareh fackte 22 HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHTA 33 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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