Foxworth v. Colvin

249 F. Supp. 3d 585, 2017 WL 1424634, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60426
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedApril 19, 2017
DocketCivil Action No. 16-10243-NMG
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 249 F. Supp. 3d 585 (Foxworth v. Colvin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Foxworth v. Colvin, 249 F. Supp. 3d 585, 2017 WL 1424634, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60426 (D. Mass. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

Nathaniel M. Gorton, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Dolly Foxworth (“Foxworth” or “plaintiff’) seeks judicial review, of the denial of her application for disability benefits by defendant, Carolyn W. Colvin (“the Commissioner” or “defendant”), in her official capacity as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (“SSA”). Before the Court are plaintiffs motion to reverse or remand the decision of the Commissioner and defendant’s motion for an order affirming her decision. For the reasons that follow, the motion to reverse or remand will be denied and the motion to affirm will be allowed.

I. Background

A. Employment History and Alleged Disability

Foxworth was born in 1963 and has a seventh grade education. She states that [587]*587she experienced physical, sexual and emotional abuse from certain family members and acquaintances during her childhood. She also purportedly suffered physical and emotional abuse from two former spouses.

For the past 15 years, Foxworth has worked in a variety of jobs. From 1997 to 2001, she was a cashier, salesperson and shelf stocker at a Kmart. In the early 2000s, she worked at a metal finishing company dying metal airplane parts. From 2002 to 2005,, she worked at a cat shelter. In 2010 and 2011, she worked as a counter at Reynolds Food Packaging and a paper sorter at a Christmas Tree Shop. Since 2011, Foxworth has been unemployed. To support herself, she relies on state disability payments, food stamps and Section Eight housing subsidies.

The record shows that, since 2000, Fox-worth has sought treatment for mental and physical health issues from numerous psychologists, doctors, therapists and other professionals. She has been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (“COPD”), sleep apnea, Hepatitis C, morbid obesity, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety, affective disorder, a learning disability and post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD’?).

B. Procedural Background

In 2012, Foxworth applied for supplemental security income under Title XVI of the Social Security Act (“the Act”) and for disability insurance benefits under Title II of the Act. Plaintiff alleges that she became disabled in March, 2011 because of the numerous ailments described above. In April, 2013, the SSA-denied Foxworth’s claim and the following September her claim was again denied after reconsideration.

In October, 2013, Foxworth filed a request for a review hearing which was held in July, 2014, before Administrative Law Judge Paul W. Goodale (“the ALJ”). Fox-worth was represented by counsel and the testifying witnesses were Foxworth and an impartial third party, vocational expert James Scorzelli Ph.D. (“Dr. Scorzelli" or “vocational expert”). The ALJ found- that Foxworth was not ' disabled under § 1614(a)(3)(A) of the Act. ■

In October, 2014, Foxworth filed a timely appeal of the ALJ’s decision to the Appeals Council. In December, 2015, the Appeals Council denied her request for review. In February, 2016, Foxworth filed her complaint in this Court.

C. The ALJ’s Decision

The ALJ applied the five-step test promulgated by the SSA to determine if a claimant is disabled and may obtained benefits under § 1602. of the Act. 42 U.S.C. § 1381a. The test evaluates 1) whether the claimant is engaged in a “substantial gainful activity’, 2) whether she has a severe impairment, 3) if there is a severe impairment, whether it is equivalent to impairments identified in the regulation, 4) whether the claimant’s residual functional capacity (“RFC”) is adequate for her previous work and, if not, 5) whether there are other jobs in the economy to which the claimant could adjust. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(a); see also Deblois v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 686 F.2d 76, 79 (1st Cir. 1982).

In some circumstances, the guidelines in 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 2, § 200.00(a), commonly referred to as “the Grid”, mandate a specific conclusion with respect to whether a claimant is disabled. Thé'Grid takes into account age, education -level, prior work experience and whether an individual has an RFC of “sedentary”, “light”, “medium” or “heavy” work and then determines, based on those factors, whether the individual is disabled.

[588]*588Under the five-step analysis, the ALJ found that Foxworth was not engaged in substantial gainful activity- and that she had several severe impairments but they were not equivalent to those identified in the Social Security Regulations. He further concluded that she had an RFC of light work with significant limitations, including an inability to stand for more than four hours a day. He also determined that she has numerous nonexertional limitations, including that she may work only at a low stress job and have only occasional interactions with others.

In his decision, the ALJ observed that the Grid is a tool to help simplify the disability analysis for the adjudicator. He stated that if an applicant is unable to perform the work considered appropriate for her RFC due to nonexertional limitations, the Grid does not apply. Because nonexertional limitations prevented Fox-worth from performing many light work jobs, the ALJ determined that the Grid did not apply to her. To determine if there were any light work jobs to which she could adjust, he sought the testimony of a vocational expert, Dr. Scorzelli.

Dr. Scorzelli concluded that when her physical limits alone are considered, Fox-worth can perform the light work job of cashier. When he took her nonexertional limits into account, however, Dr. Scorzelli determined that Foxworth cannot work as a cashier because it involves too many interactions with people but that she could adjust to three other jobs: 1) a call-out operator, 2) an addresser and 3) a surveillance system monitor. These three jobs all fall within the sedentary RFC classification. Because Dr. Scorzelli’s testimony establishes that Foxworth can successfully adjust to jobs available in the economy, the ALJ found that she was not disabled.

Finally, the ALJ concluded that Fox-worth is not entitled to Title II benefits because her date last insured for the purposes of her Title II application was March 11, 2011, and before that date, her claims for Title II benefits were denied in a final administrative decision.

II. Legal Analysis

A. Legal Standard

The Act gives United States District Courts (“District Courts”) the power to affirm, modify or reverse an ALJ’s decision or to remand the case for a rehearing. 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). A District Court’s review of an ALJ decision is not de novo, however. See Lizotte v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 654 F.2d 127, 128 (1st Cir. 1981).

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249 F. Supp. 3d 585, 2017 WL 1424634, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60426, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/foxworth-v-colvin-mad-2017.