Mendez v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Ona Wang
- 1:19-cv-09058
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Mendez v. Commissioner of Social Security, Judge Wang remanded the case for a new hearing and decision after an Appointments Clause issue.
Yanira Ivelisse Mendez, whose Social Security case will be reconsidered by a different administrative law judge after an offered hearing; the Commissioner of Social Security must conduct the further proceedings.
What happened
In Mendez v. Commissioner of Social Security, the court sent Yanira Ivelisse Mendez’s case back to the Social Security Administration under a provision allowing federal courts to order a new agency decision.
The remand followed the Supreme Court’s decision in Carr v. Saul, which held that a claimant may raise an Appointments Clause challenge for the first time in federal court. The case will go to a different administrative law judge, Mendez will be offered a hearing, and the judge will issue a new decision.
Judge Ona Wang is identified in the case information supplied with the opinion. The judgment is dated June 4, 2021.
The detailed version
- Mendez v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:19-cv-09058
- Ona Wang
- June 4, 2021
Background
Yanira Ivelisse Mendez sued the Commissioner of Social Security. The judgment states that the action was remanded to the Commissioner under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), based on the Supreme Court’s decision in Carr v. Saul, 141 S. Ct. 1352 (2021). The judgment refers to a stipulation and order dated June 4, 2021, but that document is not included in the provided text.
Court’s ruling
Carr held that a Social Security claimant does not have to raise an Appointments Clause challenge before the Social Security Administration and may instead raise it for the first time in federal court. The court ordered that Mendez’s case be sent back to the Commissioner. On remand, a different administrative law judge will further evaluate her claims, Mendez will be offered an opportunity for a hearing, and the administrative law judge will issue a new decision.
Effect of the judgment
The judgment does not state what the new decision must be or whether Mendez is entitled to Social Security benefits. It requires further agency proceedings before a new decision is issued. Judge Ona Wang is identified in the supplied case information; the judgment itself is signed by the court clerk.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.