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Brunetti v. Massanari
Citation: 24 F. App'x 19Docket: No. 00-6279
Court: Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; November 7, 2001; Federal Appellate Court
The judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, dated July 13, 2000, is affirmed. Allen Tavel appealed the dismissal of his complaint against the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) under Rule 12(b)(6) for failing to state a claim. Tavel alleged that the SSA violated laws by not granting him a protective filing date based on a 1994 oral inquiry regarding his eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). However, he did not claim to have filed a written SSI application, which is a prerequisite for eligibility under 20 C.F.R. §§ 416.305 and 416.202(g). The court ruled that Tavel's oral inquiry did not satisfy the application requirement, referencing Crane v. Shalala. Tavel sought to amend his complaint on appeal to include a claim of having filed a written application in 1997, which he raised only in his opposition to the motion to dismiss. He did not request the district court for leave to amend, and the court did not abuse its discretion by not allowing it sua sponte. Tavel also contended that the district court improperly converted the motion to dismiss into one for summary judgment by considering external materials. The court found this argument meritless, noting that the discussion of the 1997 application was irrelevant to the dismissal as the decision was based solely on the complaint. The court emphasized that it did not express any opinion on the potential viability of a claim based on the alleged 1997 application. All of Tavel's arguments were found to lack merit, leading to the affirmation of the district court's judgment.