SMITH v. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY (2019)

ORDER

Plaintiff Ricky Lee Smith applied for social security disability benefits in 2012. After his claim was dismissed on the merits by an administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration in 2014, Smith sought review by the Administration’s Appeals Council. The Appeals Council determined that Smith’s appeal was untimely, and it dismissed his request for review. Smith then sought judicial review in the Eastern District of Kentucky, but the district court held it lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit. A panel of this court affirmed, holding that “an Appeals Council decision to refrain from considering an untimely petition for review is not a ‘final decision’ subject to judicial review in federal court” under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). Smith v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 880 F.3d 813, 814 (6th Cir. 2018). The Supreme Court granted Smith’s petition for certiorari and reversed. Smith v. Berryhill, ––– U.S. ––––, 139 S. Ct. 1765, ––– L.Ed.2d –––– (2019). Accordingly, the case is remanded to the district court for consideration of Smith’s case in light of the Supreme Court’s decision.