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Morales v. Berryhill
United States District Court, D. Connecticut
August 7, 2018
VICTOR M. LARA MORALES, Plaintiff,
v.
NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON MOTION TO DISMISS
MICHAEL P. SHEA, U.S.D.J.
The
Commissioner of Social Security (the
“Commissioner”) moves to dismiss plaintiff Victor
M. Lara Morales's (“Morales”) complaint
because Morales did not timely file this action, and because
no circumstances warrant equitable tolling. (ECF No. 12.) As
set forth below, I agree and GRANT the Commissioner's
motion.
I.
Factual Background
Morales
received Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”)
benefits based on disability as a child. (See ECF No. 13 at
12.)[1]
When Morales turned eighteen, the Commissioner re-reviewed
his case under the standards for adults and determined that
Morales was not disabled. (See id.) Morales appealed that
determination, and following a hearing an Administrative Law
Judge (“ALJ”) found that Morales had not been
disabled since February 24, 2012. (Id. at 29.)
Morales requested review of the ALJ's decision before the
Social Security Administration's Appeals Council.
(Id. at 3, ¶ 3(b).) In a notice dated January
13, 2017, the Appeals Council denied review. (Id. at
30.) The notice set forth when and how Morales could seek
court review of the ALJ's decision and the procedure he
would need to follow:
If You Disagree With Our Action
If you disagree with our action, you may ask for court review
of the Administrative Law Judge's decision by filing a
civil action.
If you do not ask for court review, the Administrative Law
Judge's decision will be a final decision that can be
changed only under special rules.
How to File a Civil Action
You may file a civil action (ask for court review) by filing
a complaint in the United States District Court for the
judicial district in which you live. The complaint should
name the Commissioner of Social Security as the defendant and
should include the Social Security number(s) shown at the top
of this letter.
You or your representative must deliver copies of your
complaint and of the summons issued by the court to the U.S.
Attorney for the judicial district where you file your
complaint, as provided for in rule 4(i) of the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure.
Time to File a Civil Action
• You have 60 days to file a civil action (ask for court
review).
• The 60 days start the day after you receive this
letter. We assume you received this letter 5 days after the
date on it unless you show us that you did not receive it
within the 5-day period.
• If you cannot file for court review within 60 days,
you may ask the Appeals Council to extend your time to file.
You must have a good reason for waiting more than 60 days to
ask for court review. You must make the ...