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S.D.N.Y.Substantive rulingFiled Jan. 25, 2022

Vargas v. Commissioner of Social Security

Docket
1:16-cv-03385-VSB-SN
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
1
Social SecurityCivil Procedure
In one sentence

In Vargas v. Commissioner of Social Security, the court remanded the case for a new hearing and decision.

Who this affects

Vargas and the Commissioner of Social Security; the case will return to the Social Security Administration for a hearing and a new decision by a different administrative law judge.

What happened

In Vargas v. Commissioner of Social Security, the court addressed the case after the Supreme Court held that a Social Security claimant may raise an Appointments Clause claim for the first time in federal court.

The court ordered the case sent back to the Commissioner of Social Security. On remand, a different administrative law judge will further evaluate Vargas’s claims, offer a hearing, and issue a new decision.

The court entered judgment on January 25, 2022, remanding the action under sentence four of the governing federal law. The opinion does not name the judge.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Vargas v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:16-cv-03385-VSB-SN
Date
Jan. 25, 2022

Background

The opinion is a judgment remanding Vargas’s action to the Commissioner of Social Security. It states that the remand was ordered for the reasons given in a stipulation and order dated January 25, 2022.

Reason for Remand

The remand was made under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), which permits a federal court to send a Social Security case back to the Commissioner for further proceedings. The judgment refers to the Supreme Court’s decision in Carr v. Saul, which held that a claimant does not have to raise an Appointments Clause challenge before the Social Security Administration and may instead raise that challenge for the first time in federal court.

What Happens Next

The case will be assigned to a different administrative law judge. Vargas will be offered an opportunity for a hearing, and the administrative law judge will further evaluate the claims and issue a new decision.

Disposition

The court ordered, adjudged, and decreed that the action be remanded to the Commissioner of Social Security. The judgment is dated January 25, 2022. The opinion does not identify the presiding judge by name.

The authoritative version

Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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