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Effective today, December 1, 2022, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) have been amended to include Supplemental Rules for Social Security Civil Actions under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).

According to NOSSCR’s email to its members, highlights of the new rules include:

Pleading Requirements for the Complaint
Under the new FRCP Rule 2, a complaint filed in federal court must include the following information:

  • State that the action is brought under §405(g)
  • Identify the final decision to be reviewed, including any identifying designation provided by the Commissioner with the final decision, usually the Beneficiary Notice Control (BNC) Number provided on the ALJ and AC decisions
  • State the name and the county of residence of the person for whom benefits are claimed
  • Name the person on whose wage record benefits are claimed
  • State the type of benefits claimed

Briefing Schedule
Rule 6 provides that “[t]he plaintiff must file and serve on the Commissioner a brief for the requested relief within 30 days after the answer is filed or 30 days after entry of an order disposing of the last remaining motion filed under Rule 4(c), whichever is later.”  Rule 7 provides “[t]he Commissioner must file a brief and serve it on the plaintiff within 30 days after service of the plaintiff’s brief.”  Rule 8 provides “[t]he plaintiff may file a reply brief and serve it on the Commissioner within 14 days after service of the Commissioner’s brief.”

The new rules do not restrict the authority of the district court to grant extensions, but, currently, requests for an extension of time are considered on a case-by-case basis.

If your district has local civil rules with briefing schedules that differ from the new briefing schedule, the new FRCP Supplemental Rules will supersede the existing local rules.