Jordan ex rel. C.R.J. v. Commissioner of Social Security

940 F. Supp. 2d 602, 2013 WL 443801, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15693
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedFebruary 5, 2013
DocketCase No. 3:11-cv-316
StatusPublished

This text of 940 F. Supp. 2d 602 (Jordan ex rel. C.R.J. v. Commissioner of Social Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jordan ex rel. C.R.J. v. Commissioner of Social Security, 940 F. Supp. 2d 602, 2013 WL 443801, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15693 (S.D. Ohio 2013).

Opinion

DECISION AND ENTRY ADOPTING THE REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION FILED ON JANUARY 10, 2013; VACATING THE COMMISSIONER’S NON-DISABILITY FINDING; REMANDING PLAINTIFF’S CASE TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION UNDER SENTENCE FOUR OF 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) FOR PAYMENT OF CHILD’S SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME CONSISTENT WITH THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT, THE REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION, AND THIS DECISION AND ENTRY; AND TERMINATING THE CASE ON THE DOCKET OF THIS COURT

WALTER HERBERT RICE, District Judge.

The Court has reviewed the Report and Recommendation of United States Magis[605]*605trate Judge Michael J. Newman (Doc. # 18), to whom this case was referred pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b), and noting that no objections have been filed thereto and that the time for filing such objections under Fed.R.Civ.P. 72(b) has expired, hereby ADOPTS said Report and Recommendation.

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that:

1. The Report and Recommendation filed on January 10, 2013 (Doc. # 18) is ADOPTED in full;
2. The Commissioner’s non-disability finding is vacated;
3. Plaintiffs case is remanded to the Social Security Administration under Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) for payment of Child’s Supplemental Security Income consistent with the Social Security Act, the Report and Recommendation, and this Decision and Entry; and
4. The case is terminated on the docket of this Court.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION1 THAT: (1) THE ALJ’S NON-DISABILITY FINDING BE FOUND UNSUPPORTED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, AND REVERSED; (2) THIS CASE BE REMANDED FOR AN IMMEDIATE AWARD OF CHILD’S SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME BENEFITS; (3) PLAINTIFF’S REQUEST FOR A SENTENCE SIX REMAND BE DENIED AS MOOT; AND (4) THIS CASE BE CLOSED

MICHAEL J. NEWMAN, United. States Magistrate Judge.

This is a Social Security appeal brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). Plaintiff Mary Jordan brings this case on behalf of her minor child, C.R.J. (the “claimant” or “CRJ”), challenging the Administrative Law Judge’s (“ALJ”) determination that CRJ is “not disabled” and therefore unentitled to Child’s Supplemental Security Income (“Child’s SSI”) benefits. See generally Miller ex rel. Devine v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 37 Fed.Appx. 146, 147 (6th Cir. 2002).

This case is before the Court upon Plaintiffs Statement of Errors (doc. 11), the Commissioner’s Memorandum in Opposition (doc. 17), the administrative record (doc. 9), and the record as a whole.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Procedural History

Plaintiff filed a Child’s SSI application on behalf of CRJ on February 26, 2008, alleging CRJ has been under a disability since May 1, 2004. PageID 39. Plaintiff claims CRJ is disabled by Crohn’s disease,2 colitis in the large and small intes[606]*606tines, migraine headaches, depression, and anxiety disorder. PageID 156.

Following initial administrative denials of her application, Plaintiff received a hearing before ALJ James Knapp in June 2010. PageID 72-113. Thereafter, ALJ Knapp issued a written decision, concluding that CRJ was not disabled. PageID 39-51.

Specifically, the ALJ’s “Findings,” which represent the rationale of his decision, were as follows:

1. The claimant was born on May 24, 1994. Therefore, she was a school-age child on February 26, 2008, the date the application was filed, and is currently an adolescent (20 CFR § 416.926a(g)(2));
2. The claimant has not engaged in substantial gainful activity since February 26, 2008, the application date (20 CFR §§ 416.924(b) and 416.971 et seq.);
3. The claimant has the following severe impairments: 1) Crohn’s disease and 2) recurrent migraine headaches (20 CFR § 416.924(c));
4. The claimant does not have an impairment or combination of impairments that meets or medically equals one of the listed impairments in 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1 (20 CFR §§ 416.924, 416.925 and 416.926);
5. The claimant does not have an impairment or combination of impairments that functionally equals the Listings (20 CFR §§ 416.924(d) and 416.926a); and
6. The claimant has not been disabled, as defined in the Social Security Act, since February 26, 2008, the date the application was filed (20 CFR § 416.924(a)).

PageID 44-50.

Thereafter, the Appeals Council denied Plaintiffs request for review, making the ALJ’s non-disability finding the final administrative decision of the Commissioner. PageID 29-31; see Casey v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 987 F.2d 1230, 1233 (6th Cir.1993). Plaintiff filed this timely appeal on September 2, 2011. Doc. 1.

B. Administrative Hearing Testimony

CRJ is 5’ 1" tall, and weighed approximately 109 pounds at the time of the hearing. PagelD 66. She was then sixteen years old. Id.

CRJ testified that her primary impairment is Crohn’s disease. PageID 61-62. She occasionally experiences flare-ups, which in turn cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, and headaches. PageID 62. CRJ was hospitalized for two weeks in 2008 and eight days in 2009 for such flare-ups. Id. During a flare-up, she loses her appetite, which causes her weight to fluctuate by as much as fifteen pounds. PageID 63. She visits the doctor approximately once every two weeks. PageID 62. She testified that she experiences nausea several times a day, and has migraine headaches three times per week. PageID 62, 66.

CRJ has been a cheerleader since she was in elementary school. PageID 64. She testified that her ability to cheerlead, however, has diminished over the past few years. Id.

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940 F. Supp. 2d 602, 2013 WL 443801, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15693, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jordan-ex-rel-crj-v-commissioner-of-social-security-ohsd-2013.