United States Second Circuit

Judgment on the pleadings in favor of defendants, in action under 42 U.S.C. section 405(g) for review of a decision of the Secretary denying entitlement to coverage for 38 days of inpatient care received at a skilled nursing facility, is affirmed where the ALJ lacked statutory authority to entertain state law contract claim.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/20/2006
• Published 06/20/2006

Judges

• JOSÉ A. CABRANES, Circuit Judge., Before WINTER, CABRANES and RAGGI, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• William W. Berry, Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged of Western New York, Inc., Buffalo, NY, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Susan M. Bozinko, Assistant Regional Counsel, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the General Counsel-Region II, New York, N.Y. (Kathleen M. Mehltretter, Acting United States Attorney, Jane B. Wolfe, Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York, Buffalo, NY;  Paula M. Stannard, Acting General Counsel, Joel Lerner, Chief Counsel-Region II, Rachel Park, Assistant Regional Counsel, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the General Counsel-Region II, New York, NY, on the brief), for Defendant-Appellee Michael O. Leavitt., Cheryl Smith Fisher, Magavern, Magavern & Grimm, L.L.P., Buffalo, NY, for Defendant-Appellee Excellus, Inc.