A.B. ex rel. Y.F. v. Colvin

166 F. Supp. 3d 512, 2016 WL 614409, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18228
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedFebruary 16, 2016
DocketCivil Action No. 15-02143 (SDW)
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 166 F. Supp. 3d 512 (A.B. ex rel. Y.F. v. Colvin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
A.B. ex rel. Y.F. v. Colvin, 166 F. Supp. 3d 512, 2016 WL 614409, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18228 (D.N.J. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

WIGENTON, DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is Plaintiff A.B. (“Plaintiff’) on behalf of her minor child Y.F.’s appeal of the final administrative decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (“Commissioner”), with respect to Administrative Law Judge Elias Feuer’s (“ALJ Feuer”) denial of Plaintiffs claim for Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) child disability benefits under the Social Security Act (the “Act”). This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c)(3). Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). This appeal is decided without oral argument pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 78. For the reasons’set.forth below, this Court finds that ALJ Feuer’s factual findings are not supported by substantial evidence. Therefore, the Commissioner’s decision is VACATED and REMANDED.

I. PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL HISTORY

A. Procedural History

On September 20, 2011, Plaintiff applied for SSI child disability benefits on behalf of her son Y.F., based on his diagnosis of [515]*515Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (“ADHD”), Combined Type. (Y.F. Hr’g Sept. 26, 2013 Transcript (hereafter “Tr.”) 9.) That claim was denied on November 22, 2011. (Id.) An application for reconsideration was subsequently denied on April 9, 2012. (Id.) Plaintiff appealed, and ALJ Feuer held a hearing on September 26, 2013. (Id.) ALJ Feuer issued his opinion denying SSI benefits to Plaintiffs child on December 19, 2013. (Tr. 6-22.) On February 20, 2014, Plaintiff requested that the Appeals Council review ALJ Feuer’s denial of SSI benefits. (Tr. 5.) The Appeals Council denied the request for review on January 26, 2015, making the ALJ’s decision the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security. (Tr. 1-4.) Plaintiff now requests that this Court reverse the Commissioner’s decision and remand for an award of SSI benefits. (Compl. 2.)

B. Factual History

Y.F. is nine years old and lives in Newark, NJ with his mother and four brothers. (Pet.’s Br. 24, see Tr. 266.) According to his mother, Y.F. began displaying attention and behavioral problems at the age of three. (Tr. 234.) In February 2011, while he was still in preschool, Y.F. started therapy at Mt. Carmel Guild Behavioral Center. (Tr. 234-37.) There, he underwent a psychiatric evaluation by Dr. Ronaldo Hong, who noted his “low frustration tolerance, impulsivity, and defiance,” and recommended a therapeutic nursery program placement and a behavior modification program. (Id. at 236.)

In September 2011, when Y.F. was five years old, Dr. Dorothy Isecke, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at University Behavioral Healthcare (“UBHC”), diagnosed him with ADHD, Combined Type. (Tr. 266.) ADHD’s essential feature is a “persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequently displayed and more severe than is typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development.” American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 85 (4th ed. 2000). ADHD, Combined Type is the most severe subtype of ADHD, and is only diagnosed when there are six or more symptoms of inattention and six or more symptoms of. hyperactivity-impulsivity which have persisted for at least six months. (Id. at 87.)

Y.F has received both pharmaceutical and therapeutic treatments for behavioral problems since his ADHD diagnosis. Dr. Isecke prescribed 5 mg of Adderall medication daily at the initial appointment in September 2011, (Tr. 263, 266), and increased the dosage to 10 mg daily at a follow-up appointment the same month, (Tr. 258). Dr. Isecke also recommended therapy with Dr. Caroline Geelan, who noted Y.F.’s inability to focus and tendency to throw both temper tantrums and furniture. (Tr. 270, 335.)

In November 2011, after observing Y.F.’s behavioral and academic limitations on a daily basis for more than two months, Y.F.’s teacher completed a Social Security Administration (“SSA”) Functional Assessment Questionnaire and indicated that Y.F. had marked, if not extreme, limitations in the domains of acquiring and using information, attending and completing tasks, interacting and relating with others, and caring for himself.1 (Tr. 195-202.) In [516]*516the same month, a family worker at Y.F.’s preschool wrote a letter to NJ Disability Determination Services detailing Y.F.’s pattern of hitting teachers, running from the premises, abusing staff members, and excessively using inappropriate language. (Tr. 247.) The family worker also added that Y.F.’s behavior did not improve during the year, even though he attended the preschool in the afternoons after morning therapy at Mt. Carmel Guild. (Id.)

Dr. Joseph Nazareth, a pediatric neurologist and neuropsychiatrist referred by Newark Public Schools (“NPS”), evaluated Y.F. in June 2012 and confirmed Dr. Isecke’s ADHD . diagnosis. (Tr. 289.) He also diagnosed Y.F. with learning disabilities and perceptual deficits. (Id.) He recommended a structured classroom setting, academic remedies, and cognitive behavioral therapy. (Id.)

In the same month, a learning disabilities teacher consultant with the NPS evaluated Y.F.’s eligibility for special education classes, and observed Y.F.’s inability to maintain focus, impulsivity and carelessness in responding to test questions, refusal to attempt challenging tasks, and refusal to participate in activities with classmates. (Tr. 283-88.) During the evaluation, Y.F. threw himself on the floor, kicked school staff, and tried multiple times to leave the classroom without permission. (Id. at 285.) The teacher consultant added that Y.F.’s behavior inhibited his ability to achieve academically. (Id. at 288.) The June 2012 evaluation also included a functional behavioral assessment, which reported that Y.F. hit a classmate in the eye, refused to apologize, and pushed the teacher’s belongings off her desk. (Tr. 320-24.) The assessment concluded that Y.F.’s primary issues were a lack of self-control, disregard for the rules, refusal to follow instructions, and destruction of school property, which were all less likely to occur when he engaged in an activity he enjoyed, such as playing computer games. (Tr. 324.)

As a result of these June 2012 assessments, the NPS Child Study Team (“CST”) placed Y.F. in a small, self-contained, special education class for all of his academic subjects2 and provided him with special accommodations, including extra time on tests and assignments, individualized instruction, and having test questions read aloud to him. (Tr. 304, 307.) The CST also assigned a full-time aide to Y.F. to rein in his violent behavior. (See Tr. 302, 304.)

Since July 2012, Y.F. has received regular treatment from Dr. Diane Kaufman, his current psychiatrist at UBHC. (Tr. 340.) At Y.F’s first appointment, Dr. Kaufman confirmed the ADHD diagnosis and increased his Adderall dosage to 15 mg daily. (Tr. 334, 372.) In December 2012, because the Adderall was not working and caused irritability, Dr.

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166 F. Supp. 3d 512, 2016 WL 614409, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18228, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ab-ex-rel-yf-v-colvin-njd-2016.