Little v. Commissioner of Social Security
- John Cronan
- 1:20-cv-05431
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
In Little v. Commissioner of Social Security, Judge Cronan adopted the recommendation to dismiss Little’s untimely appeal and corrected the notice date.
Kenta Gabriel Little’s challenge to the denial of his Social Security benefits was dismissed as untimely, and the Commissioner of Social Security prevailed in this case.
What happened
Kenta Gabriel Little, representing himself, sued the Commissioner of Social Security to challenge the denial of his applications for disability benefits and supplemental income. A magistrate judge recommended dismissing the case because Little filed it after the deadline.
Little objected that a mistake in the recommendation showed the Appeals Council notice was dated August 2, 2021, which would have made his filing timely. Judge Cronan found that the correct date was August 2, 2019, making October 7, 2019 the filing deadline; Little filed on July 10, 2020. The court also rejected his arguments for extending the deadline based on his health conditions and alleged government misconduct.
In Little v. Commissioner of Social Security, Judge Cronan adopted the corrected recommendation in its entirety, except for clarifying the notice date as August 2, 2019. The court directed the clerk to close the case.
The detailed version
- Little v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:20-cv-05431
- John Cronan
- Nov. 10, 2021
Background
The Commissioner of Social Security denied Kenta Gabriel Little’s applications for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income. Little, who was representing himself, sought judicial review under 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c). The Government moved to dismiss, and the case was referred to Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger, who recommended dismissal in a corrected Report and Recommendation.
Objections and analysis
Little objected to the recommendation on three main grounds. First, he argued that a footnote stating the Appeals Council notice was dated August 2, 2021 meant his July 10, 2020 complaint was timely. The court held that the 2021 date was a clerical error. The record showed that the notice was dated August 2, 2019, making October 7, 2019 the deadline under the sixty-day filing period in 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). Little did not request an extension and filed the case on July 10, 2020. The court also found that he forfeited this argument by raising it for the first time in his objections.
Second, Little argued that equitable tolling—an exception that can extend a filing deadline in appropriate circumstances—should apply because of his medical conditions and alleged misconduct by the Commissioner. The court declined to consider medical records submitted for the first time with the objections. It further explained that, even if considered, those records did not show that Little’s conditions prevented him from understanding or pursuing his claim. The court noted that Little said he remembered the filing deadline in April 2020 but waited at least 81 more days to file, without showing diligent pursuit of his rights. The court also found no evidence that the Commissioner had prevented Little from filing on time through misleading or secretive conduct.
Third, Little objected to errors in the earlier recommendation involving his pronoun, the spelling of his first name, and a printing problem. The court treated these as general objections, found no clear error in the corrected recommendation, and concluded that the printing problem did not prejudice Little because he was able to read the document and file timely objections.
Ruling
Judge John P. Cronan adopted the corrected Report and Recommendation in its entirety, except for clarifying that footnote 3 should state that the Appeals Council notice was dated August 2, 2019. The court directed the clerk to mail the order to Little and close the case.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.