Madison v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec., Case No: 6:16-cv-91-Orl-40TBS
Decision Date | 09 August 2016 |
Docket Number | Case No: 6:16-cv-91-Orl-40TBS |
Parties | ANDREA N. MADISON, Plaintiff, v. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida |
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
(Id., at 2). Pursuant to M.D. FLA. R. 3.01(g), counsel for the Commissioner represents that Plaintiff's attorney has been contacted and has no objection to the requested relief.
The two "exclusive methods in which district courts may remand to the Secretary are set forth in sentence four and sentence six of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g)" Shalala v. Schaefer, 509 U.S. 292, 296,113 S.Ct. 2625, 125 L.Ed.2d 239 (1993). Under sentence four, "[t]he court shall have power to enter, upon the pleadings and transcript of the record, a judgment affirming, modifying, or reversing the decision of the Commissioner of Social Security, with or without remanding the cause for a rehearing." Sentence six provides that "[t]he court may, on motion of the Commissioner of Social Security made for good cause shown before the Commissioner files the Commissioner's answer, remand the case to the Commissioner of Social Security for further action ...." 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). "Immediate entry of judgment (as opposed to entry of judgment after postremand agency proceedings have been completed and their results filed with the court) is in fact the principal feature that distinguishes a sentence-four remand from a sentence-six remand." Shalala, 509 U.S. at 297. The Eighth Circuit has observed that "[a] substantive ruling on the merits of the case is a second factor distinguishing sentence-four from sentence-six remands." Pottsmith v. Barnhart, 306 F.3d 526, 528 (8th Cir. 2002) (citing Melkonyan v. Sullivan, 501 U.S. 89, 98, 111 S.Ct. 2157, 115 L.Ed.2d 78 (1991)).
The Commissioner seeks remand pursuant to sentence four (Doc. 12, at 1-2). Under sentence four, the Court is empowered to reverse the decision of the Commissioner with or without remanding the cause for a rehearing. Shalala, 509 U.S. at 292. The failure of the administrative law judge to fully develop the record constitutes sufficient grounds for remand. Brissette v. Heckler, 730 F.2d 548 (8th Cir. 1984), appeal after remand 613 F. Supp. 722 (E.D. Mo. 1985), judgment aff'd in part, rev'd in part, 784 F.2d 864 (8th Cir. 1986). A sentence-four remand may also be appropriate to allow the Commissioner to explain the basis for her administrative decision. Falcon v. Heckler, 732 F.2d 827, 829-30 (11th Cir. 1984) ( ). Upon remand of the case under sentence-four, the administrative law judge must review the complete case record, including any new material evidence. Diorio v. Heckler, 721 F.2d 726, 729 (11th Cir. 1983) ( ); Reeves v. Heckler, 734 F.2d 519, 522 n.1 (11th Cir. 1984) ( ). The Commissioner's recognition that the administrative law judge needs to further develop the record and issue a new decision is a good ground...
To continue reading
Request your trial