Huffman v. Astrue

Filing 17

ORDERED granting 14 motion to alter or amend judgment. Plaintiff Miranda Huffman's four minor children will be substituted as plaintiffs. Further, as the four children are minors, ORDERED granting 16 Order for Appointment of Next Friend by Miranda Jo Huffman; Mary S. Huffman is hereby appointed Next Friend to act on behalf of her grandchildren. Signed on 9/15/2011 by Chief District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr. (Baldwin, Joella)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
WESTERN DIVISION
MIRANDA JO HUFFMAN,

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Plaintiff,
v.
MICHAEL J. ASTRUE,
Commissioner, Social Security
Administration
Defendant.

ORDER
Pending before the Court is plaintiff’s Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment, Motion
to Allow Substitution of Party; and Motion for Appointment of Next Friend (Doc. No. 14).
Together with said motion are plaintiff’s Suggestions in Support (Doc. No. 15) and the
Petition for Appointment of Next Friend by Minor Under the Age of Eighteen (Doc. No. 16).
The government has filed no response to the pending motions.
On July 20, 2011, plaintiff filed her Social Security reply brief (Doc. No. 11). On July
29, 2011, plaintiff died as a result of a Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
infection. Plaintiff’s death was not reported to the Court immediately, and on August 15,
2011, the Court entered judgment granting plaintiff’s Social Security claim and awarding
plaintiff benefits. On August 26, 2011, plaintiff’s counsel filed the current motion, asking
the Court to amend the August 15, 2011 judgment to allow substitution of plaintiff’s four
children as the decedent’s successors.

Counsel also requests that the children’s

grandmother, Mary S. Huffman, be appointed their next friend, as the minor children have
been living with their grandmother since before plaintiff’s death and continue to live with
her.
For good cause shown, plaintiff’s motion to alter or amend judgment pursuant to

Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e) is GRANTED. Plaintiff Miranda Huffman’s four minor children
(Kameren Huffman, Kyle Huffman, Kadyn Huffman, and Kash Desrosiers) will be
substituted as plaintiffs in this matter pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(a)(1) and 21, and they
shall be entitled to Social Security disability benefits as survivors of Miranda Huffman as
set forth in 42 U.S.C. § 404(d). Further, as the four children are minors, for good cause
shown, it is hereby ordered that Mary S. Huffman be and is hereby appointed Next Friend
to act on behalf of her grandchildren, Kameren Huffman, Kyle Huffman, Kadyn Huffman,
and Kash Desrosiers, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c)(2).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
S/ FERNANDO J. GAITAN, JR.
Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr.
Chief United States District Judge

Date: 9/15/2011
Kansas City, Missouri

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