Stark v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration, 5:15-cv-00477

Background

Plaintiff Stephanie Stark sought judicial review after the Commissioner denied Social Security disability benefits; district court issued a March 18, 2016 Memorandum Opinion and Judgment affirming in part and reversing and remanding in part.
The district court found the ALJ failed to adequately articulate reasons for discounting Stark’s credibility and remanded for proper credibility analysis.
On remand, the Appeals Council (acting for the Commissioner) adopted parts of the ALJ’s decision and supplemented the credibility discussion rather than directing a new ALJ hearing.
Stark moved to enforce the district court’s remand judgment, arguing Rule 70 required the Commissioner to provide the specific act ordered (a new hearing before an ALJ) and that the Appeals Council’s action circumvented the court’s instruction.
The Commissioner opposed, arguing the district court lacked post-remand jurisdiction and, in any event, the Appeals Council’s decision complied with the remand because the Commissioner may process remands via the Appeals Council or an ALJ.
The magistrate judge denied Stark’s motion, concluding the Appeals Council’s action complied with the remand and that the court’s order did not expressly require a new hearing.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the court can enforce its remand by ordering a new ALJ hearing under Rule 70	Stark: The remand required the ALJ to perform the credibility analysis and Appeals Council review substituted for the ordered ALJ action, so enforcement is needed	Commissioner: The judgment did not mandate a new hearing; Rule 70 applies to judgments, and the Commissioner may use the Appeals Council to comply	Denied — court found no violation: remand did not require a hearing and Appeals Council action complied with the remand
Whether the district court retained jurisdiction to enforce the remand order post-judgment	Stark: sought enforcement under Rule 70 in the same case	Commissioner: Final judgment terminated the district court’s jurisdiction over the remand (absent limited exceptions)	Court declined to resolve jurisdictional question because it held the Commissioner complied with the remand
Whether remand language specifying the ALJ rather than the Commissioner limits the Commissioner’s discretion	Stark: language specifying the ALJ means only an ALJ hearing satisfies the remand	Commissioner: Court and parties often use ALJ/Commissioner interchangeably; regulations permit Appeals Council discretion	Held for Commissioner — the wording did not alter the Commissioner’s discretion; Appeals Council compliance was sufficient
Remedy for disagreement with the Appeals Council’s post-remand decision	Stark: sought enforcement to obtain a new hearing	Commissioner: If dissatisfied, plaintiff must file a new suit challenging the Appeals Council’s new final decision	Court: Plaintiff’s remedy is to file a new §405(g) action challenging the Appeals Council decision

Key Cases Cited

Shalala v. Schaefer, 509 U.S. 292 (court remanding under sentence four terminates the civil action and generally divests the district court of jurisdiction over the merits post-remand)
Smith v. Halter, 246 F.3d 1120 (8th Cir.) (district court lacked jurisdiction to entertain post-remand enforcement motions after a sentence-four remand)
Marshall v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 444 F.3d 837 (6th Cir.) (distinguishing sentence-four and sentence-six remands; sentence-six remands preserve district-court jurisdiction)
Ingram v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 496 F.3d 1253 (11th Cir.) (Appeals Council may, in its discretion, decide the case or remand to an ALJ after a district-court remand)
Travis v. Sullivan, 985 F.2d 919 (7th Cir.) (district court exceeded authority when ordering remand to a new ALJ absent evidence of bias; Appeals Council supervises remand processing)
Mullen v. Bowen, 800 F.2d 535 (6th Cir.) (Appeals Council has jurisdiction over cases remanded by the district court)
Warner v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 375 F.3d 387 (6th Cir.) (uses Commissioner/ALJ terminology interchangeably in review of Social Security decisions)