If the Appeals Council (AC) agrees to the request to voluntarily seek remand of the pending court case, the Court Case Preparation and Review Branch analyst will expeditiously prepare a confirming memorandum to advise the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) of the AC's action. The memorandum will include a brief explanation of the AC's reason for concluding that good cause exists for seeking remand and a statement explaining the action the AC proposes to take upon remand.

If the AC concludes that continued defense of a pending court case is warranted, despite the defensibility concerns raised by OGC and any additional defects noted by the analyst, the analyst will prepare a memorandum containing the AC's rationale for (1) concluding that good cause for remand does not exist and (2) continuing the defense of the case. The analyst will submit the case to the AC for final approval.

If the administrative appeals judge (AAJ) disagrees with the analyst's recommendation to continue to defend the case, the AAJ may seek input from the Division Chief AAJ as necessary. If the AC ultimately determines that OGC should defend the case, the analyst will prepare a memorandum denying the request for voluntary remand, responding to all the issues OGC raised.

After the AC makes a decision on OGC's request for voluntary remand, the analyst will:

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  Sign and date the memorandum containing the AC's formal response to the request,

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  Email the AC's response memorandum to the requesting OGC attorney,

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  Include any additional evidence, or other pertinent documents in the claim(s) file,

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  Make an appropriate entry in the Appeals Review Processing System (ARPS) to document the action taken and the date, and

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  Close the case in ARPS.