Background

On February 27, 1991, in response to a periodic reminder from the Deputy Commissioner for Programs, the Acting Associate Commissioner issued a memorandum concerning handling threatened class actions. Subsequently, the Deputy Commissioner for Programs notified the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of continued problems associated with litigation-related inquiries from attorneys and issued further instructions for handling such inquiries. The Associate Commissioner set forth these instructions in a memorandum of November 26, 1991, which superseded the February 27 memorandum.

Explanation of Content and Changes

This transmittal introduces a new chapter, I-1-500, to HALLEX. The new chapter incorporates and expands the instructions contained in the Associate Commissioner's November 26, 1991 memorandum.

The instructions concern all litigation-related inquiries, not just those from attorneys, and provide specific direction for each component. The instructions will apply when an OHA component receives a litigation-related inquiry concerning an individual court case, a class action that is threatened, pending, or that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is implementing, or a general litigation-related question.

This transmittal also updates the Table of Contents for Volume I, based on the issuance of I-1-500 and deletion of I-4-610, the latter action occasioned by the publication of the new chapter.

Remove

Remove from Volume I, Table of Contents:

Page 1, 2, 15 and 16, dated June 30, 1993 (4 pages).

Insert

Insert in Volume I, Table of Contents:

Page 1, dated June 30, 1993, and pages 2 and 2a, dated November 18, 1993 (3 pages).

Page 15, dated November 18, 1993, and page 16, dated June 30, 1993 (2 pages).

Volume I, Division I, Table of Contents, I-1-501 through I-1-590, dated November 18, 1993 (1 page).

After chapter I-1-400, place new chapter I-1-500, Litigation-related Inquiries (Including Threatened Class Actions), dated November 18, 1993 (11 pages).

Date: November 18, 1993