Horrigan v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 13

ORDER granting 12 Unopposed Motion for Stay of Proceedings. The Court stays this action and extends the deadline for Defendant to file a certified transcript and answer to January 19, 2021 or until such time as he is able to produce a certified transcript of the record, whichever comes sooner. The Clerk is direct to add a stay flag to the docket. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nicholas P. Mizell on 10/16/2020. (brh)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO DIVISION

ASHLEY HORRIGAN,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 6:20-cv-1034-Orl-18NPM

COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL
SECURITY,
Defendant.
ORDER
Before the Court is the Commissioner’s Unopposed Motion for Stay of
Proceedings (Doc. 12). Defendant requests the Court stay the proceedings for
ninety days or until such time as the Agency regains capacity to produce a certified
transcript of the administrative record necessary to draft an answer and adjudicate
the case. (Doc. 12, p. 1). Due to the current situation in this country, Defendant
represents the Agency has transitioned to a maximum telework environment, but
encountered difficulties that impact the operations of the Social Security
Administration’s Office of Appellate Operations. (Id. at pp. 1-2).
A court has broad discretion whether to stay a proceeding “as an incident to
its power to control its own docket.” Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706-707
(1997). The court must weigh the benefits of the stay against any harms of delay.

Id. at 707. Here, the Commissioner has provided good cause to extend the deadline
to file the certified transcript and answer.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the Unopposed Motion for Stay of
Proceedings (Doc. 12) is GRANTED. The Court stays this action and extends the
deadline for Defendant to file a certified transcript and answer to January 19,
2021 or until such time as he is able to produce a certified transcript of the record,
whichever comes sooner. The Clerk is direct to add a stay flag to the docket.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on October 16, 2020.

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