James MATLOCK, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Louis W. SULLIVAN, Etc., Defendant-Appellee

In August of 1983 an Administrative Law Judge, after a hearing, issued a decision denying James Matlock’s application for supplemental social security benefits. The decision, which was mailed to both Matlock and his attorney, advised them that a request for Appeals Council review must be filed within 60 days after receipt of notice of the decision. No request for review was filed within 60 days. Instead, 18 months after the AU’s decision, Mat-lock filed a request for Appeals Council review, seeking, in effect, an extension of the time to file his appeal on the ground that he had been incarcerated. The Appeals Council dismissed the request for review, concluding that Matlock had not demonstrated good cause for filing outside the 60-day period.

Matlock then filed a complaint against the Secretary in district court, seeking review of the Appeals Council’s dismissal of his untimely request for review. There is no question that Matlock’s request for review was filed outside the statutory 60-day period. The novel question presented under the law of this circuit is whether the district court has jurisdiction to review the Appeals Council’s discretionary refusal to consider an untimely…