Martin v. Sullivan

932 F.2d 1273 33 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 392 Velma MARTIN, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Louis J. SULLIVAN, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, * Defendant-Appellant. Nos. 88-15024, 88-15279. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted May 3, 1989. Decided Aug. 31, 1990. As Amended May 14, 1991. John S. Koppel, Civ. Div., U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for defendant-appellant. Gill Deford, Nat. Senior Citizens Law Center, Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiff-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Before POOLE, BEEZER and TROTT, Circuit Judges. POOLE, Circuit Judge: 1 The Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) appeals the decision of the district court invalidating one of his regulations, 20 C.F.R. Sec. 416.1123(b)(1) (1988), which characterized as "income" for purposes of assessing a person's eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits amounts not received in hand but which were instead being withheld by other agencies to recoup prior overpayments. Martin v. Bowen, 694 F.Supp. 718 (N.D.Cal.1988).…