Opinion
No. 02 Civ. 4488 (LTS)(RLE)
June 26, 2002
ORDER
Plaintiff has brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), seeking review of a denial of disability benefits.
The Clerk of the Court is hereby directed to serve a copy of this Order together with a copy of the complaint on the Civil Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, which has sixty (60) days from receipt of service to file an answer. The answer must be accompanied by a transcript of the record below.
Counsel for the parties shall confer preliminarily at least ten (10) calendar days after service of an answer to discuss settlement or other consensual approach to the issues raised by the plaintiff, including the possibility of a stipulation to remand the case to the Commissioner of Social Security (the "Commissioner") for further proceedings.
As used in this Order, the term "counsel" shall, in the case of an individual party who is proceeding pro se, mean such party.
Any stipulation entered between the parties including, but not limited to, a remand to the Commissioner for further proceedings, must be approved by this Court. The parties are advised that a remand to the Commissioner for further proceedings is not necessarily a final disposition of this case, and the plaintiff may be entitled to seek further review by this Court of any additional proceedings before the Commissioner.
Unless a proposed stipulation resolving the issues raised in the action or remanding the case to the Commissioner for further proceedings is presented to the Court beforehand, the defendant shall file with the Court and serve upon the plaintiff a motion for judgment on the pleadings no later than forty-five (45) days from the date of the filing of the answer. The defendant's motion shall be accompanied by a supporting memorandum of law that makes specific citation to the parts of the record on which defendant relies. The plaintiff shall submit a response to the defendant's motion within thirty (30) days of the service of the motion. Said response shall include a memorandum of law with specific citations to the parts of the record on which plaintiff relies. The defendant may submit a reply within ten (10) days after service of the response. No extensions of time will be granted except for good cause shown.
The parties are directed to deliver, to the mailroom at 500 Pearl Street, New York, N.Y. 10007, courtesy copies of all papers. Any plaintiff who is appearing pro se, should direct any questions to the Pro Se Office of the Court, which is located at 500 Pearl Street, Room 230, telephone no. (212) 637-0175.
IT IS SO ORDERED.