Davis v. Berryhill

272 F. Supp. 3d 154
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedAugust 7, 2017
DocketCivil Action No. 2016-1764
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 272 F. Supp. 3d 154 (Davis v. Berryhill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davis v. Berryhill, 272 F. Supp. 3d 154 (D.D.C. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

G. MICHAEL HARVEY, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Plaintiff Lavon T. Davis (“Plaintiff’) brought this action on September 1, 2016, seeking to reverse the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant Nancy A. Berryhill (“Defendant” or “Commissioner”), denying her application for supplemental security income benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act. See Compl. [Dkt. 1]. Presently ripe for resolution are two motions: (1) Plaintiffs motion for reversal; and (2) Defendant’s motion for affirmance of the Commissioner’s decision denying Plaintiffs application for benefits. Upon consideration of the parties’ briefs and the entire record, 1 the Court will deny Plaintiffs motion and grant Defendant’s motion. 'The Court’s rationale follows.

BACKGROUND

A. Legal Framework for Social Security Disability Claims

To be. eligible for disability benefits under the Social Security Act, a claimant must be found to. be “disabled” by the Social Security Administration (“SSA”). 42 U.S.C. § 423(a). In most cases, to determine whether a claimant is disabled within the meaning of the'Act, "an ALJ gathers evidence, holds a hearing, takes testimony, and performs a five-step legal evaluation of the claimant using that evidence. 20 C.F.R. § 416.920.

In that evaluation, the ALJ must determine whether: (1) the claimant is. *159 presently engaged in substantial gainful activity; (2) the claimant has a medically severe impairment or impairments; (3) the claimant’s impairment is equivalent to one of the impairments listed in the appendix of the relevant disability regulation; (4) the impairment prevents the claimant from performing her past relevant work; and (5)' the claimant, in light of her age, education, work experience, and Residual Functional Capacity (“RFC”), 2 can still perform another job that is available in the national economy. Id. The claimant bears the burden of proof in the first four steps of the evaluation. Callahan v. Astrue, 786 F.Supp.2d 87, 89 (D.D.C. 2011). At step five, however, the burden shifts to the Commissioner to identify specific jobs available in the national economy that the claimant can perform. Id.

When making 'this determination, an ALJ may call a vocational expert (“VE”) to testify as to whether a claimant can perform other work that exists in the national economy. Id. at 90. A VE may draw his or her conclusions from a number of sources, including the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (“DOT”). Id. The DOT, last published by the U.S. Department of Labor in 1991, provides a brief description of occupations within the national economy and lists the capabilities that each occupar tion requires of a worker. See generally DOT, 1991 WL 645964, Along with VE testimony, the SSA generally relies on the DOT to determine if there are jobs in the national economy that a claimant can perform given her age, education, work experience, and RFC. See 20 C.F.R. §§ 416.966-416.969. Based on this analysis, if there are no such jobs, the claimant is deemed disabled; if there are, she is deemed not disabled.

B. Relevant Facts

1. Plaintiff Lavon Davis

Plaintiff is a 25-year-old woman residing in Washington, D.C. She was born on December 12, 1991 and suffers from hydrocephalus, 3 requiring the placement of a shunt. 4 AR at 566, 618, 746, 766. In addition to hydrocephalus, Plaintiff has been diagnosed with borderline intellectual functioning 5 and affective disorder. 6 Id. at *160 522-23, 958. Despite' these impairments, Plaintiff was able to obtain her high school diploma and complete a course in cosmetology, although she has not obtained her cosmetology license. Id. at 48, 106, 113.

While Plaintiff attended a general education high school and was enrolled in regular classes, she received special education services in the form of assistance from an extra teacher and modified homework assignments. Id. at 45-46. Her Individualized Education Program (“IEP”) 7 ffom -while Plaintiff was in high school indicates that when she was in the twelfth grade, she was performing at a 6.3 grade level in basic math calculation and a 3.8 grade level in applied math problems, demonstrating “strength in solving basic addition, subtraction, and multiplication problems with both speed and accuracy.” Id., at 442. With regard to reading, Plaintiff “demonstrated strength in her ability to spell correctly higher level words, read and create sentences, and de-code words correctly,” but needed additional support in reading fluency. 8 Id. at 443. Plaintiffs difficulty with reading fluency, which she performed at a 1.6 grade level, reportedly impacted her reading comprehension. Id. Plaintiffs overall reading ability, however, was at a 7.5 grade level. Id. Moreover, Plaintiff performed at a 5.7 grade level in the category of written expression, demonstrating -strength in writing short, simple sentences and generating sentences after given prompts. Id. at 444. Plaintiff performed at a 4.4 grade level in grammatical writing, however, and struggled with identifying and using correct punctuation. Id. Lastly, Plaintiffs IEP indicates that her social-emotional functioning was adequate, that she expressed emotions appropriately, and that she used appropriate coping skills when dealing with stressors. Id. at 445.

In addition to her borderline intellectual functioning, Plaintiff has been diagnosed with depression. Id. at 523, 958. Plaintiff saw a psychologist on a weekly basis in high school and has stated that she has difficulties handling stress and getting along with others. Id. at 60, 114-15, 445. Her mother also reported that Plaintiff exhibited depressive symptoms and was difficult to deal with emotionally, saying that she “lays around at home a lot.” Id. at 114. In 2010, when Plaintiff saw an evaluating psychologist, the doctor reported that Plaintiff “appeared tired, tense, depressed, sad, [and] reluctant,” and noted that Plaintiffs “[a]ffect was flat.” Id. at 520. Another doctor reported that her depression is not severe because it does not have any significant impact oh her daily functioning based on her lifestyle. Id. at 960.

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Bluebook (online)
272 F. Supp. 3d 154, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davis-v-berryhill-dcd-2017.