Alissa Rosenberg-Torres v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:19-cv-09980
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Rosenberg-Torres v. Commissioner of Social Security, Judge Broderick granted the Commissioner’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, denied Rueda de Torres’s motion, and remanded the case.
Alissa Rosenberg-Torres and Joshua E. Torres, whose benefits were reduced by the award to Maria T. Rueda de Torres, are affected by the remand for further administrative proceedings. The Commissioner and Rueda de Torres must continue with that administrative process.
What happened
Alissa Rosenberg-Torres and Joshua E. Torres challenged the Social Security Commissioner’s decision to award surviving-parent benefits to Maria T. Rueda de Torres, which reduced the benefits otherwise payable to Rosenberg-Torres and her son. The Commissioner later asked the court to send the matter back for additional administrative proceedings, while Rueda de Torres asked the court to uphold the benefits decision and dismiss the case.
Neither side objected to Magistrate Judge Gary R. Jones’s recommendation. The district court therefore reviewed the recommendation for clear error and found none. The recommendation advised granting the Commissioner’s request, denying Rueda de Torres’s request, and sending the case back for further proceedings.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick adopted the recommendation in full. He granted the Commissioner’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, denied Rueda de Torres’s motion, and remanded the case for further administrative proceedings.
The detailed version
- Alissa Rosenberg-Torres v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:19-cv-09980
- Vernon Broderick
- Apr. 9, 2024
Background
Alissa Rosenberg-Torres brought this action under the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), seeking judicial review of the Commissioner’s decision to grant surviving-parent benefits to Maria T. Rueda de Torres, the mother of Rosenberg-Torres’s deceased husband. The opinion states that the decision reduced the amount of benefits otherwise payable to Rosenberg-Torres and Joshua E. Torres.
The court previously granted the Commissioner’s request to join Joshua E. Torres and Maria T. Rueda de Torres as parties. After that ruling, Rosenberg-Torres filed an amended complaint adding Rueda de Torres as a defendant and Joshua E. Torres as a plaintiff.
Motions and Recommendation
The Commissioner moved for judgment on the pleadings, a procedure in which the court decides a case based on the parties’ formal pleadings, and sought a remand for further administrative proceedings. Rueda de Torres separately moved for judgment on the pleadings, seeking affirmance of the Administrative Law Judge’s decision and dismissal of the action.
Magistrate Judge Gary R. Jones issued a second Report and Recommendation recommending that the Commissioner’s motion be granted, Rueda de Torres’s motion be denied, and the case be remanded for further administrative proceedings. Neither party filed an objection. Because there were no objections, the district court reviewed the recommendation for clear error.
Ruling
The court found no clear error in the second Report and Recommendation and adopted it in its entirety. The Commissioner’s motion for judgment on the pleadings was GRANTED. Rueda de Torres’s motion for judgment on the pleadings was DENIED. The case was remanded for further administrative proceedings, and the Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the open motions and remand the case.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.