Blanford v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 23

ORDER granting 22 Motion to Remand. The final decision of the Commissioner is reversed and remanded pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. §405(g). The Clerk of Court is directed to enter judgment in favor of plaintiff. Signed by Magistrate Judge Clifford J. Proud on 12/14/2015. (jmt)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
MARSHAL BLANFORD,
Plaintiff,
vs.
CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Acting
Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant.

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CIVIL NO. 15-cv-135-CJP 1

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Proud, Magistrate Judge:
This matter is now before the Court on the parties’ Agreed Motion to
Remand to the Commissioner. (Doc. 22).
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 agree that, upon remand, “the ALJ will: (1) further consider all
of the medical opinions and other source evidence of record, including the
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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medical source opinions of Drs. Gilliland and Rosch, and give reasons for the
weight assigned to those opinions; (2) reassess the claimant’s mental residual
functional capacity and provide appropriate rationale with specific references to
evidence of record in support of the assessed limitations; and (3) if warranted,
obtain supplemental evidence from a vocational expert at step five.”
The Court notes that plaintiff applied for disability benefits in December
2011.

(Tr. 22).

Plaintiff’s application has now been pending for four years.

While recognizing that the agency has a full docket, the Court urges the
Commissioner to expedite this case on remand.
For good cause shown, the parties’ Agreed Motion to Remand to the
Commissioner (Doc. 22) is GRANTED.
The final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security denying Marshal
Blanford’s

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: December 14, 2015.
s/ Clifford J. Proud
CLIFFORD J. PROUD
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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