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Court Decisions: Articles
Clark Class Definition Amended :
The definition of the plaintiff class in Clark v. Astrue - the case challenging SSA’s policy of suspending or denying benefits based on the existence of a probation or parole violation warrant - was recently amended by the District Court.
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Judge Posner Has A Fit Over FIT :
Periodically we report on cases of interest outside the Second Circuit. One such case is Bjornson v. Astrue, -- F.3d --, 2012 WL 280736 (7th Cir., Feb. 1, 2012), in which Judge Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals noted that in reading the ALJ opinion, “we stubbed our toe on a piece of opaque boilerplate.”
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Second Circuit Pens Cautionary Tale :
The Court of Appeal issues relatively few “official” decisions in Social Security appeals. More typically, the rulings are by summary order. Although they do not have precedential effect, they may be cited per F.R. App. P. 32.1, and Local Rule 32.1.1. And more typically, they are affirmances. One of the more recent decisions may be worthy for attention, however, for the lessons that can be taken from it.
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District Court Finds No Medical Improvement :
District courts actually reverse the Commissioner in a very small number of cases. LJ Fisher of the Rochester office of the Empire Justice Center recently managed to obtain one of those coveted reversals.
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Judge Remands Queens Claims to New ALJs :
In the June 2011 edition of the Disability Law News, we reported on a class action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleging systemic bias on the part of five of the Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) in the Queens ODAR (Office of Disability Adjudication and Review) office.
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District Court Defines ALJ's Role :
In remanding a claim solely for the calculation of benefits, U.S. District Judge Michael A. Telesca of the Western District of New York admonished the ALJ for taking an adversarial role in the proceedings.
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Case Remanded for Consideration of Listing 12.05C :
Jeffrey Nieznanski of the Bath office of LAW-NY recently won a remand from U.S. District Court Judge Richard Arcara. His appeal involved the claim of a 48 year old woman who had been diagnosed as mentally retarded in the course of an examination for bariatric surgery.
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Court of Appeals Defines Representative's Role :
In a recent EAJA (Equal Access to Justice Act) decision, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit admonished a federal magistrate for blaming the claimant’s representative for gaps in the record.
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Federal Court Finds Disability, Reverses, and Orders Payment :
According to 2010 data from the Social Security Administration (SSA), only 4% of cases in federal district court are reversed for payment of benefits. Getting an order of reversal, therefore, is understandably cause for joy and jubilation for plaintiff’s counsel. A recent case from the N.D.N.Y. that was reversed for payment probably made Chris Cadin of Legal Services of Central New York one such very happy fellow.
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Artificially Conceived Child Not a Child for SSA :
In March 2011, we reported on a January 2011 decision from the Third Circuit holding that twins born by artificial insemination after the death of their biological father were entitled to Social Security survivors’ benefits on his account.
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