Courtney Raven Kincy v. Commissioner of Social Security

CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedJune 10, 2026
Docket6:25-cv-00659
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Courtney Raven Kincy v. Commissioner of Social Security, (M.D. Fla. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA ORLANDO DIVISION

COURTNEY RAVEN KINCY,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No.: 6:25-cv-00659-RBD-LHP

COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY,

Defendant,

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION TO THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT:

Courtney Raven Kincy (“Claimant”) appeals the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (“the Commissioner”) denying her applications for disability insurance benefits (“DIB”) and supplemental security income (“SSI”). Doc. No. 1. Claimant raises two assignments of error regarding the Commissioner’s decision and, based on those arguments, requests that the matter be remanded for further proceedings. Doc. Nos. 23, 25. The Commissioner asserts that the decision of the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) is supported by substantial evidence and that the final decision of the Commissioner should be affirmed. Doc. No. 24. For the reasons discussed herein, it is RESPECTFULLY RECOMMENDED that the Commissioner’s final decision be AFFIRMED. I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY.1 This case arises from Claimant’s DIB and SSI applications, filed on February

4, 2021, and alleging a disability onset date of January 1, 2020. See R. 71-72, 107-08. Her claims were denied initially and on reconsideration, and Claimant requested a hearing before an ALJ. R. 109-65. A hearing was held before the ALJ on March 9,

2022, at which Claimant appeared pro se. R. 166-77, 37-70. Claimant and a vocational expert (“VE”) testified at the hearing. R. 37-70. After the hearing, the ALJ issued an unfavorable decision finding that Claimant was not disabled. R. 18- 36. On April 28, 2023, the Appeals Council denied Claimant’s request for review.

R. 1-7. Claimant timely appealed that decision in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. See Duncan v. Commissioner of Social Security, Case

No. 6:23-cv-06355-EAW (Doc. No. 1). On the parties’ stipulation, the case was reversed and remanded for further administrative proceedings. R. 1015-17. The Appeals Council then remanded the matter to the ALJ for a new hearing. R. 1027-

33. A second administrative hearing was held on December 6, 2024, at which Claimant was represented by an attorney. R. 1196-1216, 981-1014. Claimant and a vocational expert (“VE”) testified at the hearing. R. 981-1014. On January 31, 2025,

1 The transcript of the administrative proceedings is available at Doc. No. 21, and will be cited as “R.___.” the ALJ issued another unfavorable decision finding that Claimant was not disabled. R. 953-80. Claimant now seeks review in this Court. Doc. No. 1.2

II. THE ALJ’S DECISION.3 After careful consideration of the entire record, the ALJ performed the five- step evaluation process as set forth in 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(a), 416.920(a). R. 956-

71.4 The ALJ first found that Claimant met the insured status requirements of the

2 See generally 20 C.F.R. § 404.984(a) (“[W]hen a case is remanded by a Federal court for further consideration and the Appeals Council remands the case to an administrative law judge, or an administrative appeals judge issues a decision pursuant to § 404.983(c), the decision of the administrative law judge or administrative appeals judge will become the final decision of the Commissioner after remand on your case unless the Appeals Council assumes jurisdiction of the case.”); see also 20 C.F.R. § 416.1484 (same).

3 Upon a review of the record, the undersigned finds that counsel for the parties have adequately stated the pertinent facts of record in their briefing. Doc. Nos. 23-25. Accordingly, the undersigned adopts those facts referenced and only restates them herein as relevant to considering the issues raised by Claimant.

4 An individual claiming Social Security disability benefits must prove that he or she is disabled. Moore v. Barnhart, 405 F.3d 1208, 1211 (11th Cir. 2005) (citing Jones v. Apfel, 190 F.3d 1224, 1228 (11th Cir. 1999)). “The Social Security Regulations outline a five-step, sequential evaluation process used to determine whether a claimant is disabled:

(1) whether the claimant is currently engaged in substantial gainful activity; (2) whether the claimant has a severe impairment or combination of impairments; (3) whether the impairment meets or equals the severity of the specified impairments in the Listing of Impairments; (4) based on a residual functional capacity (‘RFC’) assessment, whether the claimant can perform any of his or her past relevant work despite the impairment; and (5) whether there are significant numbers of jobs in the national economy that the claimant can perform given the claimant’s RFC, age, education, and work experience.” Social Security Act through March 31, 2020. R. 959. The ALJ also concluded that Claimant had not engaged in substantial gainful activity since January 1, 2020, the

alleged disability onset date. Id. The ALJ further found that Claimant suffered from the following severe impairments: osteoarthritis of the bilateral knees, unspecified disorder of the lumbar spine with sciatica, and obesity. R. 960. The ALJ also

concluded that Claimant’s medically determinable impairments of asthma, calculus of gallbladder, diabetes mellitus, major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and other mixed anxiety disorders were non-severe, and that Claimant’s unspecified pain in her ankles and feet was not a medically determinable impairment. R. 961.

The ALJ then determined that Claimant did not have an impairment or combination of impairments that met or equaled a listed impairment in 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1. R. 963.

After careful consideration of the entire record, the ALJ found that Claimant had the residual functional capacity (“RFC”) to perform the full range of sedentary work as defined in the Social Security Regulations.5 R. 964-70. Based on this

Winschel v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 631 F.3d 1176, 1178 (11th Cir. 2011) (citing Phillips v. Barnhart, 357 F.3d 1232, 1237 (11th Cir. 2004); 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(a)(4)(i)–(v), 416.920(a)(4)(i)–(v)).

5 The Social Security Regulations define sedentary work to include:

lifting no more than 10 pounds at a time and occasionally lifting or carrying articles like docket files, ledgers, and small tools. Although a sedentary job is defined as one which involves sitting, a certain amount of walking and standing is often necessary in carrying out job duties. Jobs are sedentary if assessment, the ALJ found that Claimant had no past relevant work. R. 970. The ALJ next found that there were jobs that exist in significant numbers in the national

economy that Claimant could perform, but did not point to any specific examples. Id. In reaching this conclusion, the ALJ noted that if a claimant can perform all or substantially all of the exertional demands at a given level of exertion – in this case

at the sedentary level – the Medical-Vocational rules direct a conclusion of “disabled” or “not disabled.” Id.

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Courtney Raven Kincy v. Commissioner of Social Security, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/courtney-raven-kincy-v-commissioner-of-social-security-flmd-2026.