Montano v. Kijakazi

Background

After a continuing disability review, the Social Security Administration notified Nancy Montano on June 30, 2017, that she was no longer entitled to benefits. Montano requested reconsideration, but the request was denied on July 6, 2018. She contended that she did not receive adequate notice of that denial, including because the agency sent it to an outdated address. She also maintained that, despite attempts to request a hearing, the request was not formally recorded until November 6, 2019.

On January 28, 2020, an administrative law judge dismissed the hearing request as untimely, concluding that Montano had not shown good cause for missing the 60-day deadline. The Appeals Council denied review on June 17, 2020. Montano then sought judicial review.

Jurisdiction and Due Process

The opinion states that an agency dismissal of an untimely hearing request ordinarily is not a reviewable final agency decision. An exception applies when the claimant raises a colorable due process claim involving a meaningful opportunity to be heard or to seek reconsideration of an adverse benefits decision. The court agreed that Montano had raised such a claim and therefore had established subject-matter jurisdiction. The court noted that the record indicated the administrative law judge had not followed Social Security Administration regulations when determining whether Montano had good cause for her late hearing request.

Remand

Montano moved for summary judgment and sought remand for payment of benefits or, alternatively, further proceedings. The Commissioner agreed that the case should be remanded, but the parties disagreed about whether the remand should require payment of benefits or further administrative review.

The court rejected payment of benefits as the appropriate remedy. It held that the proper course was to remand to the Social Security Administration for further administrative proceedings so that the administrative law judge could reevaluate whether Montano had good cause for her untimely hearing request under 20 C.F.R. § 404.911. The court ordered the agency to proceed with the sequential evaluation process if warranted.

Disposition

The case was remanded to the Social Security Administration for further administrative proceedings. The opinion does not separately state whether Montano’s summary-judgment motion or the Commissioner’s cross-motion was granted or denied; it states the remand ruling and its required terms.