Alissa Rosenberg-Torres v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:19-cv-09980
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Rosenberg-Torres v. Commissioner, Judge Broderick granted joinder of J.E.T. and Maria Rueda de Torres and denied the Commissioner’s remand motion without prejudice.
Alissa Rosenberg-Torres and her minor son, J.E.T., whose benefits were reduced; Maria Rueda de Torres, whose surviving parent benefits were at issue; and the Commissioner of Social Security.
What happened
Alissa Rosenberg-Torres, representing herself and acting on behalf of her minor son, J.E.T., challenged the Social Security Commissioner’s decision to grant surviving parent benefits to Maria Rueda de Torres, the mother of Rosenberg-Torres’s deceased husband. That decision reduced the benefits otherwise payable to Rosenberg-Torres and J.E.T.
The Commissioner asked the court to add J.E.T. and Maria Rueda de Torres as parties and sought judgment on the pleadings with a remand for further administrative proceedings. A magistrate judge recommended granting joinder and denying the remand request without prejudice or reserving it until joinder occurred.
Neither party objected to the recommendation. Judge Vernon S. Broderick reviewed it for clear error, found none, and adopted it in full. The court granted joinder of J.E.T. and Maria Rueda de Torres and denied the Commissioner’s remand motion without prejudice.
The detailed version
- Alissa Rosenberg-Torres v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:19-cv-09980
- Vernon Broderick
- Aug. 16, 2022
Background
Alissa Rosenberg-Torres, proceeding without a lawyer and acting on behalf of her minor son, J.E.T., brought this action under the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). She sought judicial review of the Commissioner of Social Security’s decision to grant surviving parent benefits to Maria Rueda de Torres, the mother of Rosenberg-Torres’s deceased husband. The decision reduced the amount of benefits otherwise payable to Rosenberg-Torres and J.E.T.
Motions and Recommendation
The Commissioner moved to join J.E.T. and Maria Rueda de Torres as necessary parties under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19(a). The Commissioner also moved for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c) and sought a remand for further administrative proceedings. Magistrate Judge Gary R. Jones recommended granting joinder and denying the remand request without prejudice or reserving that request until joinder was completed. The recommendation explained that deciding the parties’ arguments could impair or impede Maria Rueda de Torres’s rights because the decision could reverse her benefits award or subject her to further administrative proceedings.
Neither party objected to the magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation. Because there were no objections, the district court reviewed the recommendation for clear error rather than reconsidering the disputed issues from the beginning.
Ruling
Judge Vernon S. Broderick found no clear error and adopted the Report and Recommendation in its entirety. The court granted the Commissioner’s motion to join J.E.T. and Maria Rueda de Torres, giving them an opportunity to present arguments supporting or opposing the Commissioner’s benefits award. The court denied without prejudice the Commissioner’s motion for remand. The opinion did not decide the underlying dispute over the benefits award.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.