Jacquay v. Commissioner of Social Security

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedSeptember 14, 2022
Docket3:21-cv-00285
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Jacquay v. Commissioner of Social Security, (N.D. Ind. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA SOUTH BEND DIVISION

KRISTINE MARIE JACQUAY, ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) CAUSE NO.: 3:21-CV-285-JPK ) KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Acting Commissioner of ) Social Security, ) Defendant. )

OPINION AND ORDER

This matter is before the Court on a Complaint [DE 1], and Plaintiff’s Opening Brief [DE 23], requesting that the May 21, 2020 decision of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) denying her claim for disability insurance benefits be reversed and benefits awarded. For the following reasons, the Court grants Plaintiff’s request for remand, but declines to award benefits. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On November 23, 2018, Plaintiff Kristine Marie Jacquay filed an application for disability benefits, alleging disability beginning November 10, 2017. Plaintiff’s application was denied initially and on reconsideration. (AR 62-99).1 Plaintiff requested a hearing, which was held before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) on April 3, 2020. (AR 33-61). On May 21, 2020, the ALJ issued an unfavorable decision, making the following findings:2 1. The claimant’s date last insured is September 30, 2022, for purposes of Medicare.

2. The claimant has not engaged in substantial gainful activity since November 23, 2018, the application date.

1 Page numbers in the Administrative Record (AR) refer to the page numbers assigned by the filer, which are found on the lower right corner of the page, and not the page numbers assigned by the Court’s CM/ECF system. 2 These findings quote the bolded findings throughout the ALJ’s decision. Internal citations to the Code of Federal Regulations are omitted. 3. The claimant has the following severe impairments: asthma; migraines; major depressive disorder; generalized anxiety disorder; and post-traumatic stress disorder.

4. The claimant does not have an impairment or combination of impairments that meets or medically equals the severity of one of the listed impairments in 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1.

5. … [T]he claimant has the residual functional capacity to perform light work as defined in 20 CFR 416.967(b) subject to the following additional limitations: The claimant can stand, walk, or sit for six hours each out of an eight hour workday. She can never climb ladders, ropes or scaffolds; and no concentrated exposure to moving machinery and unprotected heights. Work with a moderate level of noise; and no concentrated exposure to fumes, dusts, odors, gases, and poor ventilation. With work that can be learned in 30 days, or less, with simple routine tasks; routine work place changes; simple work related decisions; and with occasional interaction with coworkers, supervisors, and the general public.

6. The claimant is unable to perform any past relevant work.

7. The claimant was 52 years old, which is defined as an individual closely approaching advanced age, on the date the application was filed.

8. The claimant has at least a high school education and is able to communicate in English.

9. Transferability of job skills is not material to the determination of disability because using the Medical-Vocational Rules as a framework supports a finding the claimant is “not disabled”, whether or not the claimant has transferable job skills

10. Considering the claimant’s age, education, work experience, and residual functional capacity, there are jobs that exist in significant numbers in the national economy the claimant can perform.

11. The claimant has not been under a disability, as defined in the Social Security Act, since November 23, 2018, the date the application was filed.

(AR 17-27). Plaintiff appealed, but the Appeals Council denied review. (AR 1-3). Plaintiff then filed this civil action seeking review of the Agency’s decision pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). STANDARD OF REVIEW The Social Security Act authorizes judicial review of the agency’s final decision. 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). The question before the Court is not whether the claimant is in fact disabled, but whether the ALJ’s decision “applies the correct legal standard and is supported by substantial evidence.”

Summers v. Berryhill, 864 F.3d 523, 526 (7th Cir. 2017); 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). Under § 405(g), the Court must accept the Commissioner’s factual findings as conclusive if they are supported by substantial evidence, which is “such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Moore v. Colvin, 743 F.3d 1118, 1120-21 (7th Cir. 2014) (quoting Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401 (1971)). The Court reviews the entire administrative record but does not re-weigh the evidence, resolve conflicts in evidence, or substitute its judgment for that of the ALJ. See McKinzey v. Astrue, 641 F.3d 884, 890 (7th Cir. 2011) (citing Lopez ex rel. Lopez v. Barnhart, 336 F.3d 535, 539 (7th Cir. 2003)). However, “if the Commissioner commits an error of law,” the Court may reverse the decision “without regard to the volume of evidence in support of the factual findings.” White v.

Apfel, 167 F.3d 369, 373 (7th Cir. 1999) (citing Binion v. Chater, 108 F.3d 780, 782 (7th Cir. 1997)). At a minimum, an ALJ must articulate her analysis of the evidence in order to allow the reviewing court to trace the path of his reasoning and to be assured that the ALJ considered the important evidence. See Scott v. Barnhart, 297 F.3d 589, 595 (7th Cir. 2002). The ALJ also has a basic obligation to develop a full and fair record and “must build an accurate and logical bridge between the evidence and the result to afford the claimant meaningful judicial review of the administrative findings.” Beardsley v. Colvin, 758 F.3d 834, 837 (7th Cir. 2014). DISABILITY STANDARD To be eligible for benefits, a claimant must establish that she suffers from a “disability,” defined as an inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or that has

lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months. 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(1)(A).

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