Case Name in Social Security Case - Unavailable

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
KHUZEMA S., 1
Plaintiff,
v.
FRANK J. BISIGNANO, Commissioner
of Social Security,
Defendant.
Case No.: 3:26-cv-04576-TWR-VET
ORDER SETTING MANDATORY
SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES AND
BRIEFING SCHEDULE FOR
JUDICIAL REVIEW OF FINAL
DECISION OF THE
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL
SECURITY
On August 10, 2026, Plaintiff filed a Complaint against the Commissioner of Social
Security seeking judicial review of the denial of Plaintiff’s application for social security
benefits. ECF No. 1. Defendant filed the Administrative Record on October 9, 2026. ECF
No. 8. Pursuant to Rule 16.1(e)(3) of the Civil Local Rules, an Early Neutral Evaluation
and Case Management Conference will not be held in this case. The Court hereby
ENTERS the following Scheduling Order:
/ / /
1 Partially redacted in compliance with Civil Local Rule 7.1(e)(6)(b).
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I. 	MANDATORY SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES
The parties shall engage in good faith settlement negotiations to resolve the matter,
according to the following schedule:
1. 	On or before October 30, 2026, Plaintiff shall prepare and deliver by e-mail
to the Special Assistant United States Attorney (“SAUSA”) representing the Commissioner
(or, if no SAUSA is assigned to the case, to the assigned Assistant United States Attorney
(“AUSA”)) a written and detailed proposal of settlement.
2. 	On or before November 20, 2026, the Commissioner shall evaluate the merits
of Plaintiff’s contentions and confer with Plaintiff’s counsel in writing by mail, e-mail, or
facsimile transmission.
3. 	On or before December 4, 2026, one of the following actions shall occur:
a) 	The parties shall electronically file a stipulation dismissing, remanding,
or otherwise resolving the case; or
b) 	The parties shall electronically file a Joint Status Report advising the
Court that they have not resolved the matter in settlement discussions.
II. 	BRIEFING SCHEDULE FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW OF A FINAL
DECISION OF THE COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY
If the parties do not resolve the matter through settlement discussions, the parties
shall submit their briefs according to the following schedule and otherwise in accordance
with 	the 	Federal 	Rules 	of 	Civil 	Procedure, 	the 	Federal 	Rules 	of 	Civil 	Procedure
Supplemental 	Rules 	for 	Social 	Security 	Actions 	Under 	42 	U.S.C. 	§ 	405(g) 	(the
“Supplemental Rules”) 2, and the Civil Local Rules for the Southern District of California:
1. 	Plaintiff shall file an opening brief on or before January 8, 2027;
2 The Court “may revise” the time for briefing an action under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) “when
appropriate.” 	See 	Supplemental 	Rule 	8 	advisory 	committee’s 	note 	on 	2022
amendments; see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(1) (“When an act may or must be done within
a specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time.”).
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2. 	Defendant shall file a responding brief on or before February 12, 2027; and
3. 	Plaintiff may, but is not required to, file a reply brief no later than February
26, 2027. All arguments raised for the first time in the reply brief may be deemed
waived by Plaintiff and may not be considered by the Court. 3
A. 	General Substance of the Parties’ Briefing
The Court is familiar with the standard of review and the sequential evaluation
process, so the parties should avoid boilerplate discussions of the governing legal
standards. Rather, the parties should focus on applying relevant and controlling legal
authority to the facts germane to the disputed issues. When citing cases, statutes,
regulations, Social Security Rulings, medical and vocational reference sources, or other
legal authority to support their legal arguments, the parties shall provide complete and
accurate citations to the portions of those authorities relied upon. The parties shall also
specify the evidence upon which they rely to support their contentions and provide accurate
page citations to the administrative record for all evidence relied upon [“AR ___”]. In
addition, all medical terminology (including medical conditions, diagnoses, procedures,
tests, anatomical references, and pharmaceuticals) shall be defined in terms understandable
to a layperson, preferably by citation to a medical dictionary or glossary from a standard
reference work. The parties may not supplement the record beyond definition of technical
terms. Any issue not raised in the opening brief may be deemed to have been waived.
/ / /
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3 See Eberle v. City of Anaheim, 901 F.2d 814, 818 (9th Cir. 1990) (“It is well established
in this circuit that the general rule is that appellants cannot raise a new issue for the first
time in their reply briefs.”) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted); Thrasher v.
Colvin, 611 F. App’x 915, 918 (9th Cir. 2015) (finding Social Security claims waived
when raised for the first time in a reply brief) (citing Smith v. Marsh, 194 F.3d 1045,
1052 (9th Cir. 1999)); Carter v. Astrue, 413 F. App’x 899, 906 (9th Cir. 2011) (same);
Dorothy B. v. Kijakazi, No. CV 20-9594-PLA, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 193315, at *15–
16 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 6, 2021) (same).
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B. 	Format of The Opening and Responding Briefs
The opening and responding briefs shall be prepared substantially in the following
format:
1. 	Summary of the Case
Plaintiff shall provide a brief summary of the relevant background facts and
procedural history. The Commissioner need not respond to Plaintiff’s summary, unless the
Commissioner believes that Plaintiff’s summary misstates, mischaracterizes, or omits any
material facts or proceedings.
2. 	Medical Evidence
Plaintiff shall state whether Plaintiff will stipulate that the Administrative Law
Judge’s (“ALJ”) decision fairly and accurately summarizes the material medical evidence
and testimony of record. If not, Plaintiff shall either (a) specify the respects in which
Plaintiff contends the ALJ’s decision misstates, mischaracterizes, or omits any of the
material medical evidence and/or testimony of record, or (b) state that the contentions of
misstatement, mischaracterization, or omission are addressed in the Plaintiff’s opening
brief.
The Commissioner shall state whether the Commissioner will stipulate that the
ALJ’s decision fairly and accurately summarizes the material medical evidence and
testimony of record. If not, the Commissioner shall either (a) specify the respects in which
the Commissioner contends that the ALJ’s decision misstates, mischaracterizes, or omits
any of the material medical evidence and/or testimony of record, or (b) state that the
contentions of misstatement, mischaracterization, or omission are addressed in the
responding brief.
3. 	Statement of Disputed Issues
Plaintiff must identify and frame, in a neutral fashion, each of the disputed issues
that Plaintiff is raising as grounds for reversal and/or remand. For example: “Issue No. 1 –
Whether the ALJ properly evaluated Plaintiff’s subjective symptom testimony.”
/ / /
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4. 	Issues and Contentions
The parties’ respective positions and contentions as to each disputed issue shall be
presented in a streamlined fashion, as follows:
Issue No. 1 [The heading shall conform to the first issue listed in the
Statement of Disputed Issues.]
(a) 	In the opening brief, Plaintiff shall concisely set forth Plaintiff’s
contentions (including citations to the page(s) of the administrative
record where cited evidence is found, complete citations to relevant
legal authority, and definitions of medical terminology).
(b) 	In the responding brief, the Commissioner shall concisely set
forth the Commissioner’s contentions (including citations to the page(s)
of the administrative record where cited evidence is found, complete
citations 	to 	relevant 	legal 	authority, 	and 	definitions 	of 	medical
terminology).
(c) 	Plaintiff may, but is not required to, reply to the contentions
raised by the Commissioner.
Issue No. 2, etc. [Repeat the foregoing format as needed for each disputed
issue.]
5. 	Relief Requested
The parties shall each provide a concise statement of the relief requested in their
respective opening and responding briefs.
6. 	Residual Considerations
All briefs must otherwise conform with Civil Local Rules 5.1 and 7.1. Unless
otherwise ordered, the matter shall be deemed submitted for decision without oral
argument. The deadlines set forth in this Order are designed to give sufficient time to
perform the required acts with the exercise of reasonable diligence and in accordance with
the Supplemental Rules. Accordingly, requests for extensions of time are discouraged.
Any motion requesting an extension of the deadline set forth in this Order should be filed
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as early as practicable and in no event less than fourteen (14) days in advance of the
deadline and otherwise in compliance with the undersigned’s Civil Chambers Rules
(available on the Court’s website).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: October 9, 2026 __________________________________
Honorable Valerie E. Torres
United States Magistrate Judge
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