Rees v. Astrue

Filing 40

ORDER granting 39 Motion to Remand. The clerk of court shall enter judgment in favor of plaintiff. Signed by Magistrate Judge Clifford J. Proud on 2/5/2015. (jmt)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
RONALD J. REES,

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Plaintiff,
vs.
CAROLYN W. COLVIN,
Defendant.

CIVIL NO. 12-cv-274-CJP 1

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Proud, Magistrate Judge:
This matter is now before the Court on the parties’ joint Motion for
Remand. (Doc. 39).
The parties agree that this case should be remanded to the agency for
further proceedings pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). A sentence
four remand (as opposed to a sentence six remand) depends upon a finding of
error, and is itself a final, appealable order. See, Melkonyan v. Sullivan, 501
U.S. 89 (1991); Perlman v. Swiss Bank Corporation Comprehensive Disability
Protection Plan, 195 F.3d 975, 978 (7th Cir. 1999).
remand, judgment should be entered in favor of plaintiff.

Upon a sentence four
Schaefer v. Shalala,

509 U.S. 292, 302-303 (1993).
The parties stipulate that, on remand, an ALJ will do the following:
The parties agree that, on remand, an Administrative Law Judge
(ALJ) will further evaluate the opinion evidence of record, but not
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This case was assigned to the undersigned for final disposition upon consent of the parties
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §636(c). See, Doc. 10.
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include any testimony from the October 20, 2010 hearing. If the ALJ
gives significant weight to any doctor’s opinion, yet rejects certain
portions of that doctor’s opinion, the ALJ will explain why s/he
rejected those portions of the opinion. The ALJ should also further
evaluate Plaintiff’s residual functional capacity and if necessary,
whether Plaintiff’s drug and alcohol abuse is material to any finding
of disability. If necessary, the ALJ should obtain vocational expert
evidence to determine whether Plaintiff can perform any other work.
The Court notes that plaintiff applied for benefits almost six years ago.
(Tr. 16). His case has already been remanded once pursuant to sentence six of 42
U.S.C. § 405(g) because the transcript of the evidentiary hearing was inaudible.
See, Doc. 15. While recognizing that the agency has a full docket, the Court urges
the Commissioner to expedite this matter on remand to the extent practicable.
For good cause shown, the parties’ joint Motion for Remand (Doc. 39) is
GRANTED.
The final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security denying Ronald
J. Rees’ application for social security benefits is REVERSED and REMANDED
to the Commissioner for rehearing and reconsideration of the evidence, pursuant
to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. §405(g).
The Clerk of Court is directed to enter judgment in favor of plaintiff.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: February 5, 2015.
s/ Clifford J. Proud
CLIFFORD J. PROUD
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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