Hughes v. Social Security Administration

Filing 18

OPINION AND ORDER by Magistrate Judge Frank H McCarthy reversing and ; remanding case (terminates case) ; granting 17 Motion to Remand (tjc, Dpty Clk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
STEVE L. HUGHES,
Plaintiff,
vs.
CAROLYN W. COLVIN,
Acting Commissioner,
Social Security Administration,
Defendant.

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Civil No. 4:13-CV-78-FHM

OPINION AND ORDER
The court hereby grants Defendant’s Unopposed Motion for Voluntary Remand Pursuant
to Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) (#17). Accordingly, the court hereby reverses the final
decision of the Commissioner and remands the case to the Commissioner for further
proceedings. Under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), a federal district court has the power
“to enter, upon the pleadings and transcript of the record, a judgment affirming, modifying or
reversing the decision of the Commissioner . . ., with or without remanding the cause for a
rehearing.” See Shalala v. Schaefer, 509 U.S. 292, 296-97 (1993); Melkonyan v. Sullivan, 501
U.S. 89, 97-98 (1991).
Remand of this case is necessary because the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) deviated
from Tenth Circuit caselaw by finding Plaintiff not disabled at step five, relying on the MedicalVocational Rules, without first explicitly addressing the agency’s borderline-age regulation.
Upon remand, the ALJ will afford Plaintiff the opportunity for a de novo hearing and render a
new decision in accordance with the applicable caselaw and regulations. The ALJ will, if

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needed, obtain additional evidence from a vocational expert regarding the existence of jobs in
significant numbers in the national economy that Plaintiff can perform.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 30th day of September, 2013.

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