Capps v. Berryhill

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. North Carolina
DecidedJanuary 23, 2020
Docket1:19-cv-00037
StatusUnknown

This text of Capps v. Berryhill (Capps v. Berryhill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Capps v. Berryhill, (W.D.N.C. 2020).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA ASHEVILLE DIVISION 1:19 CV 37

TERESA EATON CAPPS ) ) Plaintiff, ) MEMORANDUM ) AND v. ) ORDER ) NANCY A. BERRYHILL, ) Acting Commissioner of the Social ) Security Administration, ) ) Defendant. ) _______________________________ )

This matter is before the Court on the parties’ cross motions for summary judgment. Docs. 11 & 14.1 I. Procedural History On August 14, 2015, Plaintiff filed an application for disability insurance benefits alleging she was disabled beginning on July 15, 2012. Transcript of Administrative Record (“AR”), pp. 213-218. Plaintiff’s claim was denied upon initial review and upon reconsideration. AR pp. 114-124 & 125-136. Plaintiff thereafter requested a hearing before an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) and a hearing was held in Asheville, North Carolina, where Plaintiff appeared and testified. AR pp. 29-68. Plaintiff was represented by counsel at the hearing.

1 The parties have consented to the disposition of this matter by a United States Magistrate Judge. Docs. 6 & 7. On February 22, 2018, the ALJ issued an unfavorable decision. AR pp. 11-23. The Appeals Council denied Plaintiff’s request for review of that

decision on December 7, 2018. AR pp. 1-7. On February 4, 2019, Plaintiff filed the instant action. Doc. 1. Accordingly, Plaintiff exhausted her administrative remedies before timely filing this action and the ALJ’s decision is the Commissioner’s final decision

for purposes of judicial review. See 20 C.F.R. § 404.981. II. The Five-Step Process A claimant has the burden of proving that he or she suffers from a disability, which is defined as a medically determinable physical or mental

impairment lasting at least 12 months that prevents the claimant from engaging in substantial gainful activity. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1505; 416.905. The regulations require the Commissioner to evaluate each claim for benefits using a five-step sequential analysis. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520; 416.920. In this process,

the Commissioner considers each of the following: (1) whether the claimant has engaged in substantial gainful employment; (2) whether the claimant has a severe impairment; (3) whether the claimant’s impairment is sufficiently severe to meet or exceed the severity of one or more of the impairments listed

in Appendix I of 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P; (4) whether the claimant can perform his or her past relevant work; and (5) whether the claimant is able to perform any other work considering his or her age, education, and residual functional capacity (“RFC”). 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520, 416.920; Mastro v. Apfel, 270 F.3d 171, 177 (4th Cir. 2001); Johnson v. Barnhart, 434 F.3d 650, 653 n.1

(4th Cir. 2005) (per curiam). The burden rests on the claimant through the first four steps to prove disability. Monroe v. Colvin, 826 F.3d 176, 179 (4th Cir. 2016). If the claimant is successful at these steps, then the burden shifts to the Commissioner to

prove at step five that the claimant can perform other work. Mascio v. Colvin, 780 F.3d 632, 635 (4th Cir. 2015); Monroe, 826 F.3d at 180. III. The ALJ’s Decision The ALJ determined that Plaintiff last met insured status requirements

on September 30, 2013 and had the severe impairments of “degenerative disc disease of the cervical and lumbar spine, peripheral neuropathy, rotator cuff disease, osteoarthritis, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Sjogren’s Syndrome, and Raynaud’s Syndrome.” AR p. 16. After finding that Plaintiff’s impairments

did not meet or medically equal the severity of certain listed impairments, including Listings 1.02 and 1.04, the ALJ found that Plaintiff had the RFC to perform light work as defined in 20 CFR 404.1567(b). She can occasionally lift 20 pounds; and frequently lift 10 pounds. She can sit, stand, and walk for 6-hours out of an 8-hour workday. She can push and pull as much as she can lift and carry except she can operate foot controls bilaterally, on a frequent basis. She can operate hand controls bilaterally, on a frequent basis. She can frequently perform overhead reaching, bilaterally. She can frequently climb ramps and stairs. She can occasionally climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds. She can frequently balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl. She can be in an environment of unprotected heights and moving mechanical parts on a frequent basis. She can have occasional exposure to extreme cold and be around vibrations on a frequent basis. AR p. 18. Utilizing this RFC, the ALJ found that Plaintiff could perform other work, including the representative occupations of cashier, sales attendant, and routing clerk such that Plaintiff was not disabled from July 15, 2012 (Plaintiff’s alleged disability onset date) through September 30, 2013 (the date Plaintiff was last insured). AR p. 22. IV. Standard of Review

Under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner denying disability benefits is limited to two inquiries: (1) whether substantial evidence exists in the record as a whole to support the Commissioner’s findings, and (2) whether the Commissioner’s final decision

applies the proper legal standards. Hines v. Barnhart, 453 F.3d 559, 561 (4th Cir. 2006) (quoting Mastro, 270 F.3d at 176). “Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Craig v. Chater, 76 F.3d 585, 589 (4th Cir. 1996) (internal

quotation marks omitted). It is more than a scintilla but less than a preponderance of evidence. Id. When a federal district court reviews the Commissioner’s decision, it does not “re-weigh conflicting evidence, make credibility determinations, or substitute [its] judgment for that of the [Commissioner].” Id. Accordingly, the

issue before the Court is not whether Plaintiff is disabled but, rather, whether the Commissioner’s decision that she is not disabled is supported by substantial evidence in the record and based on the correct application of the law. Id.

V. Analysis A. Plaintiff’s Allegations of Error Plaintiff makes two allegations of error. First, Plaintiff contends that the ALJ erred by failing to find that Plaintiff was disabled at step three of the

sequential evaluation process. Second, Plaintiff argues that the ALJ’s RFC determination is not supported by substantial evidence. B. Period of Disability As an initial matter, the Court notes that the ALJ found, and no party

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Capps v. Berryhill, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/capps-v-berryhill-ncwd-2020.