Bowen v. City of New York

476 U.S. 467 (1986)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Bowen v. City of New York

United States Supreme Court
476 U.S. 467 (1986)

  • Written by Heather Whittemore, JD

Facts

A group of people with serious mental disabilities who had been denied or cut off from disability benefits (collectively, the class) (plaintiffs) filed a class action against the Social Security Administration (SSA) (defendant) in federal district court, alleging the SSA was following an illegal policy that resulted in the erroneous denial of disability benefits for applicants with the impairments suffered by the class. The class included claimants who had been denied benefits, or lost benefits they had previously received, on or after April 1, 1980, and who were at varying stages of administrative appeals through the SSA. Many members of the class who had previously received benefits had been hospitalized for medical problems after their benefits were cut off. The district court found that the SSA had been following an illegal policy from approximately 1978 to 1983 that had discriminated against disability-benefits applicants with mental impairments. The district court certified the class, including the applicants who had not exhausted the administrative remedies available through the SSA, and ordered the SSA to reopen the cases of those who had been wrongfully denied benefits. The court of appeals affirmed. The SSA appealed, arguing that the district court did not have jurisdiction over members of the class who had not exhausted the available administrative remedies as required by § 405(g) of the Social Security Act (the Act).

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Powell, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership