Almada v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration

CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedMay 27, 2020
Docket2:19-cv-04881
StatusUnknown

This text of Almada v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration (Almada v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Almada v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration, (D. Ariz. 2020).

Opinion

1 WO 2

6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 Efraim Almada, Jr., No. CV-19-04881-PHX-ESW 9

10 Plaintiff, ORDER

11 v. 12 Commissioner of the Social Security 13 Administration, 14 Defendant. 15

16 17 18 Pending before the Court is Efraim Almada, Jr.’s (“Plaintiff”) appeal of the Social 19 Security Administration’s (“Social Security”) denial of his applications for disability 20 insurance benefits and supplemental security income. The Court has jurisdiction to 21 decide Plaintiff’s appeal pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g), 1383(c). Under 42 U.S.C. § 22 405(g), the Court has the power to enter, based upon the pleadings and transcript of the 23 record, a judgment affirming, modifying, or reversing the decision of the Commissioner 24 of Social Security, with or without remanding the case for a rehearing. Both parties have 25 consented to the exercise of U.S. Magistrate Judge jurisdiction. (Doc. 10). 26 After reviewing the Administrative Record (“A.R.”) and the parties’ briefing 27 (Docs. 18, 21, 27), the Court finds that the Administrative Law Judge’s (“ALJ”) decision 28 contains harmful legal error. For the reasons explained in Section II, the decision is 1 reversed and the case is remanded to the Commissioner of Social Security for an 2 immediate award of benefits. 3 I. LEGAL STANDARDS 4 A. Disability Analysis: Five-Step Evaluation 5 The Social Security Act (the “Act”) provides for disability insurance benefits to 6 those who have contributed to the Social Security program and who suffer from a 7 physical or mental disability. 42 U.S.C. § 423(a)(1). The Act also provides for 8 supplemental security income to certain individuals who are aged 65 or older, blind, or 9 disabled and have limited income. 42 U.S.C. § 1382. To be eligible for benefits based 10 on an alleged disability, the claimant must show that he or she suffers from a medically 11 determinable physical or mental impairment that prohibits him or her from engaging in 12 any substantial gainful activity. 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(1)(A); 42 U.S.C. § 1382c(a)(3)(A). 13 The claimant must also show that the impairment is expected to cause death or last for a 14 continuous period of at least 12 months. Id. 15 To decide if a claimant is entitled to Social Security benefits, an ALJ conducts an 16 analysis consisting of five questions, which are considered in sequential steps. 20 C.F.R. 17 §§ 404.1520(a), 416.920(a). The claimant has the burden of proof regarding the first four 18 steps:1 19 Step One: Is the claimant engaged in “substantial gainful 20 activity”? If so, the analysis ends and disability benefits are denied. Otherwise, the ALJ proceeds to step two. 21 Step Two: Does the claimant have a medically severe 22 impairment or combination of impairments? A severe 23 impairment is one which significantly limits the claimant’s 24 physical or mental ability to do basic work activities. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(c), 416.920(c). If the claimant does not 25 have a severe impairment or combination of impairments, 26 disability benefits are denied at this step. Otherwise, the ALJ 27 proceeds to step three.

28 1 Parra v. Astrue, 481 F.3d 742,746 (9th Cir. 2007). 1 Step Three: Is the impairment equivalent to one of a number 2 of listed impairments that the Commissioner acknowledges are so severe as to preclude substantial gainful activity? 20 3 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(d), 416.920(d). If the impairment meets 4 or equals one of the listed impairments, the claimant is 5 conclusively presumed to be disabled. If the impairment is not one that is presumed to be disabling, the ALJ proceeds to 6 the fourth step of the analysis. 7 Step Four: Does the impairment prevent the claimant from 8 performing work which the claimant performed in the past? 9 If not, the claimant is “not disabled” and disability benefits are denied without continuing the analysis. 20 C.F.R. §§ 10 404.1520(f), 416.920(f). Otherwise, the ALJ proceeds to the 11 last step. 12 If the analysis proceeds to the final question, the burden of proof shifts to the 13 Commissioner:2 14 Step Five: Can the claimant perform other work in the 15 national economy in light of his or her age, education, and 16 work experience? The claimant is entitled to disability benefits only if he or she is unable to perform other work. 20 17 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(g), 416.920(g). Social Security is responsible for providing evidence that demonstrates that 18 other work exists in significant numbers in the national 19 economy that the claimant can do, given the claimant’s residual functional capacity, age, education, and work 20 experience. Id. 21 B. Standard of Review Applicable to ALJ’s Determination 22 The Court must affirm an ALJ’s decision if it is supported by substantial evidence 23 and is based on correct legal standards. Molina v. Astrue, 674 F.3d 1104, 1110 (9th Cir. 24 2012); Marcia v. Sullivan, 900 F.2d 172, 174 (9th Cir. 1990). “Substantial evidence” is 25 less than a preponderance, but more than a “mere scintilla.” Richardson v. Perales, 402 26 U.S. 389, 401 (1971) (quoting Consolidated Edison v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229 (1938)). 27

28 2 Parra, 481 F.3d at 746. 1 It is “such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a 2 conclusion.” Id. 3 In determining whether substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s decision, the 4 Court considers the record as a whole, weighing both the evidence that supports and 5 detracts from the ALJ’s conclusions. Reddick v. Chater, 157 F.3d 715, 720 (9th Cir. 6 1998); Tylitzki v. Shalala, 999 F.2d 1411, 1413 (9th Cir. 1993). If there is sufficient 7 evidence to support the ALJ’s determination, the Court cannot substitute its own 8 determination. See Morgan v. Comm’r of the Social Sec. Admin., 169 F.3d 595, 599 (9th 9 Cir. 1999) (“Where the evidence is susceptible to more than one rational interpretation, it 10 is the ALJ’s conclusion that must be upheld.”); Magallanes v. Bowen, 881 F.2d 747, 750 11 (9th Cir. 1989).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Borrero-Acevedo
533 F.3d 11 (First Circuit, 2008)
Molina v. Astrue
674 F.3d 1104 (Ninth Circuit, 2012)
Tommasetti v. Astrue
533 F.3d 1035 (Ninth Circuit, 2008)
Orn v. Astrue
495 F.3d 625 (Ninth Circuit, 2007)
Karen Garrison v. Carolyn W. Colvin
759 F.3d 995 (Ninth Circuit, 2014)
Ira Green, Inc. v. Military Sales & Service Co.
775 F.3d 12 (First Circuit, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Almada v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/almada-v-commissioner-of-social-security-administration-azd-2020.