Crowell v. Commissioner of Social Security

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedOctober 25, 2022
Docket2:20-cv-00343
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Crowell v. Commissioner of Social Security, (E.D. Wis. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

ANGELA KRISTEN CROWELL,

Plaintiff, Case No. 20-cv-0343-bhl v.

KILOLO KIJAKAZI,1 Commissioner of Social Security Administration,

Defendant. ______________________________________________________________________________

ORDER AND DECISION ______________________________________________________________________________

Plaintiff Angela Kristen Crowell seeks the summary judgment reversal and remand of an administrative law judge decision denying her claim for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits under the Social Security Act. For the reasons set forth below, the decision is affirmed and Crowell’s summary judgment motion denied. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Crowell applied for SSI on February 11, 2010, alleging disability beginning August 1, 2007. (ECF No. 9-1 at 71.) The claim was denied initially and upon reconsideration. (Id.) Crowell then requested a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ), and a hearing was held on June 22, 2011. (Id.) The ALJ denied Crowell’s claim in a written decision dated August 4, 2011. (Id. at 71-82.) Crowell appealed the decision to the federal district court, where the decision was voluntarily remanded. (ECF No. 12 at 3.) On June 6, 2014, a remand hearing was held during which Crowell revised her alleged disability onset date to January 1, 2012. (Id.) Crowell’s claims were again denied, and the Appeals Council (AC) declined review. (ECF No. 9-4 at 90; ECF No. 12 at 3.) Crowell appealed the decision to the federal district court for the second time, and the Commissioner again agreed to a remand. (ECF No. 12 at 3.)

1 Kilolo Kijakazi became the Acting Commissioner of Social Security on July 9, 2021. Therefore, pursuant to Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Kilolo Kijakazi should be substituted for former Commission Andrew Saul as the defendant in this suit. No further action need be taken to continue this suit by reason of the last sentence of section 205(g) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §405(g). After the agreed-remand, on September 17, 2017, the AC ordered a third hearing and incorporated a newly asserted 2015 SSI claim. (ECF No. 9-16 at 99-101.) The AC instructed the ALJ to issue a new decision that evaluated Crowell’s alleged symptoms and provide a rationale in accordance with the disability regulations. (Id. at 100.) The ALJ was also directed to consider Crowell’s maximum residual functional capacity (RFC) during the entire period at issue and provide a rationale with specific references to evidence of the record in support of assessed limitations while evaluating and explaining the weight given to opinion evidence. (Id.) The AC also made clear the ALJ should obtain supplemental vocational expert evidence, if warranted. (Id.; ECF No. 9-15 at 38.) A third administrative hearing was held on April 17, 2018. (ECF No. 9-15 at 38.) At the hearing, Crowell was represented by counsel, and a vocational expert testified. (Id. at 71.) The ALJ issued an unfavorable decision on June 12, 2018, finding Crowell “not disabled.” (ECF No. 9-15 at 56.) The AC denied review on January 27, 2020. (ECF No. 12 at 5.) Crowell then returned to this court for a third time on March 2, 2020. (ECF No. 1.) FACTUAL BACKGROUND At the time of the hearing, Crowell was 39 years old and had been living with friends for the past week. For the preceding five years, Crowell had lived with her boyfriend. (ECF No. 9- 15 at 44.) Crowell alleged that since January 1, 2012, she had been unable to work due to ADHD, social anxiety, fibromyalgia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, chronic pain, panic attacks, arthritis, shoulder pain, back pain, OCD, anxiety, depression, insomnia, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. (Id.) At the hearing, Crowell testified that she read books for about two hours a day, watched television for about two hours a day, and spent time on Facebook for six hours a day trying to win books. (ECF No. 9-15 at 95-100.) The record also reflects that Crowell cared for her boyfriend’s autistic son, babysat several days a week for three to four hours a day, attended concerts, traveled to Madison, and went camping and boating. (ECF No. 9-20 at 51, 59; ECF No. 9-21 at 14.) Crowell contended she is primarily unable to work due to her mental conditions. The ALJ noted that Crowell had longstanding mental health symptoms that dated back to her teenage years, “including fluctuating moods of euthymia and depression, anxiousness, stress, excessive worrying, social phobia, anger, irritability, obsessive thoughts . . . occasional suicidal ideation, crying spells, paranoia, panic attacks, control issues, feelings of guilt and worthless [sic], as well as difficulty focusing and following directions.” (ECF No. 9-15 at 46.) Crowell had been diagnosed with “affective disorder (bipolar disorder, depression), anxiety disorder (OCD, panic disorder) and avoidant personality disorder” and was treated with medication. (Id.) In his decision, the ALJ determined Crowell’s fibromyalgia; left shoulder disorders, status post surgical correction; depressive disorder and anxiety disorder constituted severe impairments. (ECF No. 9-15 at 41.) But the ALJ found that Crowell was not disabled because her residual functional capacity left her eligible for a wide array of jobs in the national economy. LEGAL STANDARD The Commissioner’s final decision on the denial of benefits will be upheld “if the ALJ applied the correct legal standards and supported his decision with substantial evidence.” Jelinek v. Astrue, 662 F.3d 805, 811 (7th Cir. 2011) (citing 42 U.S.C. §405(g)). Substantial evidence is not conclusive evidence; it is merely “such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Biestek v. Berryhill, 139 S. Ct. 1148, 1154 (2019) (citation omitted). The Supreme Court has instructed that “the threshold for such evidentiary sufficiency is not high.” Id. In rendering a decision, the ALJ “must build a logical bridge from the evidence to his conclusion, but he need not provide a complete written evaluation of every piece of testimony and evidence.” Pepper v. Colvin, 712 F.3d 351, 362 (7th Cir. 2013) (citation omitted). That said, an ALJ is not permitted to simply ignore contradictory evidence. Moore v. Colvin, 743 F.3d 1118, 1123 (7th Cir. 2014). In reviewing the entire record, this Court “does not substitute its judgment for that of the Commissioner by reconsidering facts, reweighing evidence, resolving conflicts in evidence, or deciding questions of credibility.” Estok v. Apfel, 152 F.3d 636, 638 (7th Cir. 1998). Judicial review is limited to the rationales offered by the ALJ. Steele v. Barnhart, 290 F.3d 936, 941 (7th Cir. 2002) (citing SEC v. Chenery Corp., 318 U.S. 80, 93-95 (1943)). ANALYSIS Crowell offers four bases for reversal or remand. First, she contends her bipolar disorder was not found severe or non-severe or properly considered in the RFC determination.

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Crowell v. Commissioner of Social Security, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crowell-v-commissioner-of-social-security-wied-2022.