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Social Security court review

Curlee v. Social Security Administration

Updated Nov 12, 2026

In brief

Where it stands
Petition Pending

Awaiting an order on the petition

No decision timeline until the Court agrees to hear the case.

What it’s about
Larry Curlee asks the Supreme Court to review whether he may pursue constitutional and tort claims against the Social Security Administration, arguing that its process failed before a hearing and that no court reviewed his constitutional claims.
What's at stake
Whether Curlee may pursue these claims against the Social Security Administration remains unresolved.

Summary: written with AI from the case record.

What it's about

His petition was distributed for a conference; that is not a decision to hear the case.

Curlee says the agency process ended before a hearing and no court reviewed his constitutional claims.

Question presented

1. Whether Schweiker v. Chilicky, 487 U.S. 412 (1988), bars a Bivens action when the Social Security Administration's administrative process collapsed entirely before any merits hearing was held and no court has ever reviewed the constitutional claims at issue, thereby eliminating the factual predicate on which Schweiker's holding depends. 2. Whether, under Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC, 598 U.S. 175 (2023), a district court retains federal question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. section 1331 over structural due process claims against the Social Security Administration when the agency's statutory review scheme has provided no meaningful opportunity for any court to consider those claims. 3. Whether a district court abuses its discretion by denying leave to amend when the plaintiff has expressly offered to relinquish all claims for monetary damages and to seek only declaratory relief, thereby eliminating the personal-liability rationale that is the sole stated basis for Schweiker's bar on Bivens recovery. 4. Whether 42 U.S.C. section 405(h) bars Federal Tort Claims Act claims that are wholly collateral to any benefits determination and that arose from tortious agency conduct for which no administrative hearing was ever held.

What happens next

The Court must decide whether to hear the petition. It was distributed for a Dec. 4, 2026, conference, but that does not guarantee a decision date.

Documents

1

Docket activity

5
  • New analysis added

    Nov 12, 2026 · Court records

  • AI analysis generated: Case Briefing

    Nov 12, 2026 · Generated

  • Case data updated: summary, question_presented, generation_metadata

    Nov 12, 2026 · Court records

  • Case data updated: question_presented, extraction_metadata

    Nov 12, 2026 · Court records

  • Brief added: Petition

    Jul 8, 2026 · Court records

More questions

1
What relief did Curlee offer instead of money damages?
He offered to give up monetary claims and seek only a court declaration.

Sources

Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.

Checked Nov 12, 2026Methodology

Court records and filings

Reporting and analysis