VSG Pursues Lawsuit Against Social Security Administration
WASHINGTON, D.C. Vogel, Slade & Goldstein is continuing to pursue its class lawsuit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) in an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Hart, et al. v. Colvin, No. 16-1371 (4th Cir.). The lawsuit, Grice, et al. v. Colvin, Civ. Action 14-1082 (D.Md.), alleges that the SSA wrongfully seized the tax refunds of hundreds of thousands of people to repay Social Security “overpayments” that the Government contends were made decades ago, in many cases to these people’s parents when the people were still children. The lawsuit also claims that the Government long ago discarded any documentation that would show the circumstances of most of these alleged “overpayments.”
The United States District Court initially denied the Government’s motion to dismiss the case, holding that the individual plaintiffs stated claims for relief. After that Order, the SSA issued “waivers” that released the individual plaintiffs from their alleged overpayment debts, and the SSA argued that its actions rendered the class action case moot. The District Court agreed and dismissed the lawsuit on mootness grounds, and VSG has appealed that ruling.
The case has been the subject of extensive coverage in the news media, including the Washington Post, CBS Evening News, ABC World News Tonight, and the Daily Show.