Mayhew v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 31

ORDER DENYING AS MOOT 26 PLAINTIFF'S LETTER REQUEST FOR REDUCTION OF WITHHOLDING. Signed by Judge Beth Labson Freeman on 11/26/2014. (blflc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/26/2014)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

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JOHN MAYHEW,

Case No. 13-cv-04521-BLF

Plaintiff,
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ORDER DENYING AS MOOT
PLAINTIFF'S LETTER REQUEST FOR
REDUCTION OF WITHHOLDING

v.
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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Acting
Commissioner of Social Security,

[Re: ECF 26]

Defendant.

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On November 6, 2014, Plaintiff submitted a letter asking the Court to limit the amount

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withheld from each of his benefits checks from $50.00 to $10.00. See ECF 26. The Court

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construed Plaintiff’s letter as a request for an order directing an interim reduction of withholding

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pending disposition of this action, and directed Defendant to file a response on or before

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November 21, 2014. See ECF 27.

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Defendant filed a timely response, asserting that the Court’s intervention in the efforts of

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the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) to recover overpayments would exceed the scope of

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authority conferred upon the Court by the Social Security Act (“the Act”). See 42 U.S.C. §

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405(g), (h) (providing for review of final decisions of the Commissioner of Social Security).

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Moreover, Defendant states that the SSA currently is withholding only $10 per month – the

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minimum permitted by regulation, see 20 C.F.R. § 404.502(c) – from Plaintiff’s benefits. As

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evidence of the amount of withholding, Defendant submits a declaration of Sheri Horsburgh, a

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program analyst employed by the SSA, which states the following facts: Plaintiff receives

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disabled adult child’s benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act and Supplemental Security

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Income (“SSI”) under Title XVI of the Social Security Act. Horsburgh Decl. ¶ 3. From October

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2007 through March 2010, the SSA withheld $50 per month from Plaintiff’s Title II benefits to

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recover an overpayment; in April 2010, pursuant to Plaintiff’s request, the SSA reduced the

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withholding to $10 per month; in February 2011, the SSA increased the withholding to $79 per

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month; and in April 2011, pursuant to Plaintiff’s request, the SSA again reduced the withholding

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to $10 per month. Id. ¶¶ 4-9. From April 2011 through the present, the SSA has withheld $10 per

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month from Plaintiff’s Title II benefits. Id. ¶ 9. In January 2012, the SSA notified Plaintiff that it

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had deducted $28 from a SSI underpayment and applied it to reduce the Title II overpayment. Id.

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¶ 10.

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Because the withholding of Plaintiff’s Title II benefits already is set at the monthly
minimum of $10 per month (and has been for some time), Plaintiff’s request for a reduction of
withholding is DENIED AS MOOT. Given that disposition, the Court need not determine

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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whether it would have the authority to direct an interim reduction of withholding in appropriate

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circumstances.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: November 26, 2014
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BETH LABSON FREEMAN
United States District Judge

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