Res judicata

Res judicata is applicable to an SSA initial determination that a claimant is “disabled.” The plaintiff received SSI for twelve months until her benefits were stopped due to incarceration.  The plaintiff filed a second SSI application which was denied initially, upon reconsdieration and…

A dismissal of a hearing request on res judicata grounds, where the current claim has the same factual basis as the earlier decision, is not reviewable. A purely discretionary hearing held for purposes of receiving allegedly new and material evidence is not a hearing within the meaning of 42…

Absent a colorable constitutional claim not present here, a district court does not have jurisdiction to review the Secretary's discretionary decision not to reopen an earlier adjudication. Appeal barred by res judicata where, even though claimant's second application was not identical to…

"Final decision" of the Secretary generally means the initial substantive decision of the Secretary on the benefits claim. 405(g) cannot be read to authorize judicial review of alleged abuses of agency discretion in refusing to reopen claims for social security benefits. This is so…

A claimant who was earlier denied at reconsideration, and then filed a new claim but presented no new evidence, cannot get a hearing and/or court review. Res judicata operates even if earlier decision was below hearing level.

Califano v. Sanders, (430 U.S. 99 [1977]) foreclosed judicial review of reopening decision absent a constitutional claim. Claimant's 1973 claim was properly dismissed on res judicata grounds, since the claim was identical to one heard and denied in 1965, after claimant's eligibility for…