Deena Musselman v. Kilolo Kijakazi

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: May 22, 2023
• Docket: 22-2043
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA4 Appeal: 22-2043 Doc: 10 Filed: 05/22/2023 Pg: 1 of 3

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 22-2043

DEENA L. MUSSELMAN,

Plaintiff - Appellant,

v.

KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Acting Commissioner of Social Security,

Defendant - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Roanoke. Michael F. Urbanski, Chief District Judge. (7:21-cv-00039-MFU-RSB)

Submitted: May 18, 2023 Decided: May 22, 2023

Before NIEMEYER, RICHARDSON, and RUSHING, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Deena L. Musselman, Appellant Pro Se. Maija DiDomenico, Assistant Regional Counsel, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.

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PER CURIAM:

Deena L. Musselman appeals the district court’s order adopting the magistrate

judge’s recommendation and upholding the administrative law judge’s (ALJ) denial of

Musselman’s application for disability insurance benefits. “In social security proceedings,

a court of appeals applies the same standard of review as does the district court. That is, a

reviewing court must uphold the determination when an ALJ has applied correct legal

standards and the ALJ’s factual findings are supported by substantial evidence.” Brown v.

Comm’r Soc. Sec. Admin., 873 F.3d 251, 267 (4th Cir. 2017) (cleaned up). “Substantial

evidence is that which a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.

It consists of more than a mere scintilla of evidence but may be less than a preponderance.”

Pearson v. Colvin, 810 F.3d 204, 207 (4th Cir. 2015) (cleaned up). “In reviewing for

substantial evidence, we do not undertake to reweigh conflicting evidence, make credibility

determinations, or substitute our judgment for that of the ALJ. Where conflicting evidence

allows reasonable minds to differ as to whether a claimant is disabled, the responsibility

for that decision falls on the ALJ.” Hancock v. Astrue, 667 F.3d 470, 472 (4th Cir. 2012)

(cleaned up).

We have reviewed the record and discern no reversible error. The ALJ applied the

correct legal standards in evaluating Musselman’s claim for benefits, and the ALJ’s factual

findings are supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s

judgment upholding the denial of benefits. Musselman v. Kijakazi, No. 7:21-cv-00039-

MFU-RSB (W.D. Va. July 28, 2022). We dispense with oral argument because the facts

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and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and

argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED