Ricky Lee Smith v. Commissioner of Social Security

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
File Name: 19a0369n.06
No. 17-5809
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
RICKY LEE SMITH,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY,
Defendant-Appellee.
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O R D E R
Before: MERRITT, GRIFFIN, and DONALD, Circuit Judges
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, 139 S. Ct. 1765 (2019). Accordingly, the case is

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No. 17-5089, Smith v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec.
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remanded to the district court for consideration of Smith’s case in light of the Supreme Court’s
decision.
ENTERED BY ORDER OF THE COURT
Deborah S. Hunt, Clerk

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