Coleman v. Kijakazi

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Washington
DecidedJanuary 23, 2023
Docket4:21-cv-05035
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Coleman v. Kijakazi, (E.D. Wash. 2023).

Opinion

1 U.S. F DIL ISE TD R I IN C TT H CE O URT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 2 Jan 23, 2023 3 SEAN F. MCAVOY, CLERK 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

7 KATHLEEN C.,1 No. 4:21-CV-05035-ACE

8 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S 9 MOTION FOR SUMMARY 10 v. JUDGMENT AND REMANDING FOR ADDITIONAL PROCEEDINGS 11 KILOLO KIJAKAZI, 12 ACTING COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 2 ECF Nos. 15, 19 13

14 Defendant.

15 BEFORE THE COURT are cross-motions for summary judgment. ECF 16 No. 15, 19. Attorney Chad Hatfield represents Kathleen C. (Plaintiff); Special 17 Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey E. Staples represents the Commissioner of 18 Social Security (Defendant). The parties have consented to proceed before a 19 magistrate judge. ECF No. 6. After reviewing the administrative record and the 20 briefs filed by the parties, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary 21 Judgment; DENIES Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment; and 22

23 1To protect the privacy of plaintiffs in social security cases, the undersigned 24 identifies them by only their first names and the initial of their last names. 25 2 Kilolo Kijakazi became the Acting Commissioner of Social Security on 26 July 9, 2021. Pursuant to Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 27 Kilolo Kijakazi is substituted for Andrew M. Saul as the defendant in this suit. No 28 further action need be taken to continue this suit. See 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). 1 REMANDS the matter to the Commissioner for additional proceedings pursuant to 2 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). 3 JURISDICTION 4 Plaintiff protectively filed an application for Supplemental Security Income 5 on August 30, 2018, alleging disability since June 1, 2012. Tr. 15, 74, 157-76. 6 The applications were denied initially and upon reconsideration. Tr. 94-98, 102- 7 05. Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Stewart Stallings held a hearing on June 18, 8 2020. Tr. 15, 30-63. The ALJ issued an unfavorable decision on September 2, 9 2020. Tr. 12-29. Plaintiff requested review by the Appeals Council and the 10 Appeals Council denied the request for review on January 5, 2021. Tr. 1-6. The 11 ALJ’s September 2020 decision became the final decision of the Commissioner, 12 which is appealable to the district court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). Plaintiff 13 filed this action for judicial review on March 11, 2021. ECF No. 1. 14 STANDARD OF REVIEW 15 The ALJ is tasked with “determining credibility, resolving conflicts in 16 medical testimony, and resolving ambiguities.” Andrews v. Shalala, 53 F.3d 1035, 17 1039 (9th Cir. 1995). The ALJ’s determinations of law are reviewed de novo, with 18 deference to a reasonable interpretation of the applicable statutes. McNatt v. Apfel, 19 201 F.3d 1084, 1087 (9th Cir. 2000). The decision of the ALJ may be reversed 20 only if it is not supported by substantial evidence or if it is based on legal error. 21 Tackett v. Apfel, 180 F.3d 1094, 1097 (9th Cir. 1999). Substantial evidence is 22 defined as being more than a mere scintilla, but less than a preponderance. Id. at 23 1098. Put another way, substantial evidence “is such relevant evidence as a 24 reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Richardson v. 25 Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401 (1971), (quoting Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 26 305 U.S. 197, 229 (1938)). If the evidence is susceptible to more than one rational 27 interpretation, the Court may not substitute its judgment for that of the ALJ. 28 Tackett, 180 F.3d at 1098; Morgan v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 169 F.3d 595, 1 599 (9th Cir. 1999). If substantial evidence supports the administrative findings, or 2 if conflicting evidence supports a finding of either disability or non-disability, the 3 ALJ’s determination is conclusive. Sprague v. Bowen, 812 F.2d 1226, 1230 (9th 4 Cir. 1987). Nevertheless, a decision supported by substantial evidence will be set 5 aside if the proper legal standards were not applied in weighing the evidence and 6 making the decision. Brawner v. Sec’y of Health and Hum. Services, 839 F.2d 7 432, 433 (9th Cir. 1988). 8 SEQUENTIAL EVALUATION PROCESS 9 The Commissioner has established a five-step sequential evaluation process 10 for determining whether a person is disabled. 20 C.F.R. § 416.920(a); Bowen v. 11 Yuckert, 482 U.S. 137, 140-142 (1987). In steps one through four, the claimant 12 bears the burden of establishing a prima facie case of disability benefits. Tackett, 13 180 F.3d at 1098-1099. This burden is met once a claimant establishes that a 14 physical or mental impairment prevents the claimant from engaging in past 15 relevant work. 20 C.F.R. § 416.920(a)(4). If a claimant cannot perform past 16 relevant work, the ALJ proceeds to step five, and the burden shifts to the 17 Commissioner to show (1) that Plaintiff can perform other substantial gainful 18 activity and (2) that a significant number of jobs exist in the national economy 19 which Plaintiff can perform. Kail v. Heckler, 722 F.2d 1496, 1497-1498 (9th Cir. 20 1984); Beltran v. Astrue, 700 F.3d 386, 389 (9th Cir. 2012). If a claimant cannot 21 make an adjustment to other work, the claimant will be found disabled. 20 C.F.R. 22 § 416.920(a)(4)(v). 23 ADMINISTRATIVE FINDINGS 24 On September 2, 2020 the ALJ issued a decision finding Plaintiff was not 25 disabled as defined in the Social Security Act. Tr. 12-29. 26 At step one, the ALJ found Plaintiff had not engaged in substantial gainful 27 activity since August 30, 2018, the date the application was filed. Tr. 17. 28 1 At step two, the ALJ determined Plaintiff had the following medically 2 determinable impairments: fibromyalgia/chronic pain syndrome, migraines, lumbar 3 degenerative disc disease, peripheral neuropathy, and a depressive disorder. Id. 4 At step three, the ALJ found Plaintiff did not have an impairment or 5 combination of impairments that met or medically equaled the severity of one of 6 the listed impairments. Tr. 18. 7 The ALJ assessed Plaintiff’s Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) and found 8 that she could perform light work, with the following nonexertional limitations:

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

Related

Richardson v. Perales
402 U.S. 389 (Supreme Court, 1971)
Bowen v. Yuckert
482 U.S. 137 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Smolen v. Chater
80 F.3d 1273 (Ninth Circuit, 1996)
Lester v. Chater
81 F.3d 821 (Ninth Circuit, 1995)
Reddick v. Chater
157 F.3d 715 (Ninth Circuit, 1998)
Tackett v. Apfel
180 F.3d 1094 (Ninth Circuit, 1999)
Beltran v. Astrue
700 F.3d 386 (Ninth Circuit, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Coleman v. Kijakazi, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coleman-v-kijakazi-waed-2023.