Background

This transmittal amends Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual section I-5-4-72 to update procedures for implementing a joint settlement agreement, approved by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on April 25, 2017, in the Hart et al. v. Colvin (Hart) class action.

Explanation of Content and Changes

HALLEX I-5-4-72 – In section V.B.1., we included additional instructions for processing Office of Appellate Operations cases that are screened out under the Hart criteria. In section VI, we added instructions for Hart claims remanded from Federal court prior to April 25, 2017. We additionally added NOTE 2 in VI.A.3. to include processing instructions for Group 1 class members who, prior to April 25, 2017, appealed a final decision to Federal court and whose claim(s) is remanded by Federal court for reasons other than meeting the eligibility requirements in VI.A.1. or VI.A.2. We additionally added a NOTE in VI.B.3. to include processing instructions for Group 2 class members who, prior to April 25, 2017, appealed a final decision to Federal court and whose claim(s) is remanded for reasons other than meeting the eligibility requirements in VI.B.1. or VI.B.2.

Date: January 6, 2018