Devin Maravel v. Kilolo Kijakazi

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: February 10, 2023
• Docket: 21-1835
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA4 Appeal: 21-1835 Doc: 28 Filed: 02/10/2023 Pg: 1 of 4

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 21-1835

DEVIN JAMES MARAVEL,

Plaintiff – Appellant,

v.

KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Acting Commissioner of Social Security,

Defendant – Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. Catherine C. Eagles, District Judge. (1:20-cv-00624-CCE-LPA)

Argued: January 26, 2023 Decided: February 10, 2023

Before KING and RICHARDSON, Circuit Judges, and MOTZ, Senior Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ARGUED: David Randolph Paletta, Durham, North Carolina, for Appellant. David E. Somers, III, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Brian O’Donnell, Regional Chief Counsel, Charles Kawas, Supervisory Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Sandra J. Hairston, Acting United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 21-1835 Doc: 28 Filed: 02/10/2023 Pg: 2 of 4

PER CURIAM:

Devin James Maravel applied at age 18 for supplemental security income and

disabled adult child’s benefits. An ALJ held a hearing and then determined that Maravel

was not disabled and therefore not entitled to benefits. After exhausting his administrative

appeals, Maravel filed a complaint in federal court. The district court granted a motion for

judgment on the pleadings affirming the denial of benefits. Maravel then filed this appeal.

For the reasons set forth within, we now affirm.

We review a district court’s grant of a motion for judgment on the pleadings de

novo. See Woods v. Berryhill, 888 F.3d 686, 691 (4th Cir. 2018). We will affirm an ALJ’s

disability determination “when an ALJ has applied correct legal standards and the ALJ’s

factual findings are supported by substantial evidence.” Mascio v. Colvin, 780 F.3d 632,

634 (4th Cir. 2015).

To determine whether an individual is disabled, and therefore entitled to Social

Security Disability (SSD) benefits, an ALJ uses a multi-step sequential evaluation process.

See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(a)(4). After “the ALJ asks at step one whether the claimant has

been working; [and] at step two, whether the claimant’s medical impairments meet the

regulations’ severity and duration requirements; at step three, [the ALJ determines]

whether the medical impairments meet or equal an impairment listed in the

regulations . . . .” Woods v. Berryhill, 888 F.3d 686, 689 (4th Cir. 2018) (quoting Mascio

v. Colvin, 780 F.3d 632, 634 (4th Cir. 2015)). When evaluating mental disorders at step

three the ALJ rates the claimant’s limitations in four areas of mental functioning:

(1) understanding, remembering, or applying information; (2) interacting with others;

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(3) concentrating, persisting, or maintaining pace; and (4) adapting and managing oneself.

20 C.F.R. Pt. 404, subpt. P, app. 1 § 12.00A.2.b. The ALJ uses a five-point rating scale

consisting of none, mild, moderate, marked, and extreme limitation. Id. § 12.00F.2. To

meet or equal a mental disorder listed in the regulations, a claimant must have an extreme

limitation in one or marked limitation in two of these areas. Id. § 12.00A.2.b. If the

claimant satisfies this standard he is presumptively disabled and entitled to benefits. 20

C.F.R. § 404.1520(a)(4).

If a claimant’s medical impairments do not meet or equal an impairment listed in

the regulations, and therefore entitle him to presumptive disability, the ALJ must determine

a claimant’s residual functional capacity (RFC). Id. The RFC is a measure of the most a

claimant can still do despite his impairments. Id. After determining a claimant’s RFC, the

ALJ will consider whether the claimant can perform his past relevant work and, if not,

whether jobs that the claimant can perform “exist in significant numbers in the national

economy.” Id. § 404.1560(c).

Maravel argues that the ALJ erred in ruling that his mental impairments do not meet

the listing criteria for presumptive disability at step three, by finding that his functional

limitations are mild or moderate, and not marked or severe. He also asserts that the ALJ

erred in calculating his RFC as it pertains to his mental health. Maravel contends that both

the step three and RFC determinations conflict with record evidence of his mental

impairments. He specifically argues that these rulings conflict with records he submitted

from a school he attended in his teenage years and from medical providers he has seen

since he submitted his application at age 18.

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Although the records that Maravel focuses on indicate a high degree of impairment

in some areas relevant to his ability to work, other evidence in the record shows less severe

limitations and supports the ALJ’s findings that, overall, Maravel’s impairments do not

warrant presumptive disability or a more limited RFC calculation. In reviewing the

decisions of the ALJ, we do not “reweigh conflicting evidence, make credibility

determinations, or substitute our judgment for that of the [ALJ].” Johnson v. Barnhart,

434 F.3d 650, 653 (4th Cir. 2005). When faced with conflicting evidence in the record,

the responsibility to decide which evidence to credit lies with the ALJ. Id.

If substantial evidence in the record supports an ALJ’s determination, we do not

second guess the ALJ’s decisions resolving conflicts in the record evidence. Here there is

substantial evidence in the record to support the ALJ’s determination that Maravel’s

impairments do not meet the step three listing criteria and to support the ALJ’s calculation

of his RFC. Thus, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

AFFIRMED