United States District Court
District of Connecticut
FILED AT NEW HAVEN
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United States District Court Dinah ilton Kinney, Clerk
District of Connecticut By-~,.....IE:~~:---'r--
STANDING ORDER'- SOCIAL SECURITY CASES
This Order shall apply only to civil actions under the Social Security Act brought
by an individual Plaintiff seeking district court review of a final administrative decision of
the Commissioner of Social Security (hereinafter "Commissioner") pursuant to 42
U.S.C. § 405(g). 1
This order shall apply to civil actions filed on or after December 1, 2022. Unless
otherwise ordered by the Court, the parties shall adhere to the deadlines set forth in this
Order.
I. Commencing an Action. To commence an action under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) to review
a final administrative decision of the Commissioner, the Plaintiff shall file a complaint
with the Court. The filing, contents, and service of the complaint is governed by Rules 2
and 3 of the "Supplemental Rules for Social Security Actions Under 42 U.S.C. § 405(9)."
The complaint must state either the Plaintiff's full Social Security Number or the
Beneficiary Notice Control Number provided by the Commissioner.
a. Contents and form of complaint. Use of the model "Complaint for Review of
Social Security Administration Decision" that appears on the Court's website is sufficient
to satisfy the requirements for the content of the complaint. If the model is not used, the
complaint must contain at least the same content as the model. The complaint must not
include any attachments or evidence, nor may it include argument.
1 This Rule shall not apply to any other action, for example (1) actions that include claims against the
Commissioner of Social Security in addition to, or other than, those brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §
405(g); (2) actions that include multiple plaintiffs or a class action ; or (3) actions that include defendants
other than the Commissioner of Social Security.
b. After 7 months from the filing of the complaint, if there is no action by either
party, a Local Rule 41 (a) notice will issue.
II. Commissioner's Response to Complaint
a. The Commissioner's response to the complaint is governed by Rule 4 of the
"Supplemental Rules for Social Security Actions Under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g)," provided
that if the Commissioner files a motion under Civil Rule 12 in response to the complaint,
the Plaintiff must respond within 30 days of the filing of such a motion.
b. Commissioner's Appearance. Counsel for the Commissioner must file a notice
of appearance prior to responding to the complaint.
c. Redaction. The Certified Administrative Record and all other filings are
exempt from any redaction requirements. Access to those documents is governed by
Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2(c) and 5.2(d).
d. Defects. If a party discovers a material omission from, improper submission
within, or other similar defect in the Certified Administrative Record, the party must
promptly notify the opposing party. When appropriate, the Commissioner will file a
supplemental or amended Certified Administrative Record. In such circumstances, the
briefing deadlines set out in this Order may be re-calculated as circumstances warrant.
If the omission or other defect cannot be cured by filing a supplemental or amended
Certified Administrative Record within 60 days from the date the Commissioner is
notified, the Commissioner will file a motion to remand.
Ill. Briefing Requirements
a. The Plaintiff must file and serve a Motion to Reverse the Decision of the
Commissioner, accompanied by a brief, within 30 days after the filing of the Certified
Administrative Record or 30 days after entry of an order disposing of the last remaining
motion filed under Rule 4(c) of the "Supplemental Rules for Social Security Actions
Under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g)", whichever is later.
b. The Plaintiffs brief shall set forth such facts as the Plaintiff believes are
material to the adjudication of the claim. Any fact set forth shall be supported by specific
page citation to the Certified Administrative Record. The Plaintiff's brief shall include a
statement of the Plaintiffs legal arguments and the support for them. The Plaintiff's brief
shall not exceed 40 pages.
c. The Commissioner must file and serve a Motion to Affirm the Decision of the
Commissioner, accompanied by a brief, within 30 days after the filing of the Plaintiff's
brief.
d. The Commissioner's brief shall conform to the requirements set forth above
for the Plaintiff's brief, except that a statement of facts need not be included unless the
Commissioner is dissatisfied with the Plaintiff's factual recitation. The Commissioner's
brief shall not exceed 40 pages.
e. The Plaintiff's reply brief, if any, must be limited to responding to the
Commissioner's brief, must be filed within 14 days of the date of the filing of the
Commissioner's brief and may not exceed 10 pages.
f. Citations and Exhibits. All arguments must include citations to the Certified
Administrative Record page number and not to the docket page number created by the
CM/ECF system upon filing of the Certified Administrative Record, and to the relevant
legal authority for each argument. Materials, including unpublished cases or agency
policies, that are publicly available, including through online resources such as Westlaw
or Lexis, need not be attached as exhibits when Plaintiff is represented by counsel.
g. Motions for Extensions of Time. Subject to the provisions of Local Rule of Civil
Procedure 7(b)(3), either party may move for a first Extension of Time to file the party's
dispositive motion and brief, for a period not to exceed 30 days without a showing of
good cause, provided the consent of the opposing party is obtained. All other Motions
for Extension of Time must be filed in accordance with Local Rule of Civil Procedure
7(b).
h. Page Limits. Parties must obtain leave of the Court to exceed the page limits
identified in this Order. A motion for leave to exceed the page limits must be filed in
accordance with Local Rule of Civil Procedure 7(a)(5) and must set forth good cause
justifying the granting of such leave. If the Court grants such a request for the Plaintiffs
brief, the Commissioner will automatically receive the same page-length enlargement
for the Commissioner's brief.
i. Failure to Comply. The Court, on its own initiative or upon the motion of either
party, may strike without prejudice any document that does not comply with this Order.
If the Court strikes a party's brief, the party whose brief was struck must, within fourteen
calendar days, re-file a brief that complies with the Court's order and this Standing
Order. Failure to re-file in such circumstances will ordinarily be deemed to constitute
sufficient grounds to deny the underlying Motion.
IV. Motions for Remand. If the Commissioner files a motion for remand for further
administrative action, the Commissioner must state whether the Plaintiff consents to the
remand. If the Plaintiff has not given consent, the Plaintiff must file an objection within
14 days of the filing of the Commissioner's motion or the Court will assume that the
Plaintiff consents to remand. Any deadlines pending when such a motion is filed will be
held in abeyance while the Court considers the motion and objection, if any.
V. Form and Content of Motions and Supporting Briefs. All motions and briefs filed with
the Clerk shall meet the following requirements:
a. All text in the body of the document must be double-spaced, except that text
in block quotations and footnotes may be single-spaced.
b. Extensive footnotes and block quotations may not be used to circumvent page
limitations.
c. Documents must have one-inch margins on all four sides.
d. Pages must be consecutively numbered.
e. Consistent with the Electronic Filing Order in Social Security Cases, all
documents filed electronically, including the copy of the Administrative Record, must be
filed in OCR text searchable PDF format.
VI. Fees and Costs
a. Petitions or motions for attorney's fees and expenses under the Equal Access
to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412.
i. Petitions or motions for fees and expenses under the EAJA are governed by
the requirements and procedures set forth in that Act. 2 Unless stipulated, a petition or
2 Prior to the filing of a petition under the EAJA, the Plaintiff is encouraged to contact the Commissioner to
attempt to reach an agreement by Stipulation.
motion for fees and expenses under 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d) should not be filed before the
judgment at issue is final and not appealable. If any petition or motion for fees and
expenses is filed before the judgment at issue is final and not appealable, it will be
deemed filed on the first day after the appeal period has run. Any petition or motion for
fees and expenses shall be filed no later than 30 days after the expiration of the appeal
period. Defendant must file any objection to a petition or motion for fees and expenses
under the EAJA in accordance with Local Rule 7. A stipulation, petition or motion for
fees and expenses under the EAJA must satisfy the requirements of 28 U.S.C. §
2412(d)(1 )(B).
ii. Should a petition or motion for fees under EAJA be filed before the
judgment at issue is final and not appealable, and should the Commissioner appeal the
judgment of the Court, the Plaintiff shall withdraw the petition or motion forthwith.
iii. If the parties stipulate to an award of fees and/or expenses under the
EAJA, a stipulation may be filed in resolution of a petition or motion (if already filed) or in
lieu of a petition or motion for fees and/or expenses, provided that such Stipulation
satisfies the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B). Where a previous motion has
been filed, it is sufficient for counsel to incorporate by reference the information
contained in the previous filings to satisfy the requirements of 28 U.S.C. §
2412(d)(1 )(B). Such stipulation shall also provide that under the circumstances of the
case, the United States does not contest the Plaintiff's position with respect to the issue
of substantial justification.
b. Requests for costs under 28 U.S.C . §§ 1920 and 2412(a).
i. Requests for costs under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1920 and 2412(a) must be
separately itemized from attorney's fees and expenses sought under 28 U.S.C. §
2412(d). If the parties stipulate to an award of costs and fees and are filing a Stipulation
as set forth above, an award of costs may be included in the Stipulation.
SO ORDERED.
Dated at Hartford, Connecticut this 19th day of December 2022.
Isl Michael P. Shea
Michael P. Shea
Chief United States District Judge
