Leah Y. v. Berryhill

362 F. Supp. 3d 940
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedJanuary 24, 2019
DocketCase No. 6:18-cv-00273-SU
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 362 F. Supp. 3d 940 (Leah Y. v. Berryhill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Leah Y. v. Berryhill, 362 F. Supp. 3d 940 (D. Or. 2019).

Opinion

SULLIVAN, United States Magistrate Judge:

Plaintiff Leah Y. brings this action pursuant to the Social Security Act (the "Act"), 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), to obtain judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (the "Commissioner") denying her Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB") under Title II of the Act. 42 U.S.C. § 401 et seq. For the following reasons, the Court REVERSES the Commissioner's decision and REMANDS for further administrative proceedings.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff applied for DIB on December 18, 2013, claiming disability beginning December 6, 2013. Tr. 149-50.2 Her claim was denied initially on May 23, 2014, and on reconsideration on November 20, 2014. Tr.

*94463-76, 77-90. A hearing was held September 30, 2016, before Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") MaryKay Rauenzahn. Tr. 32-62. Plaintiff testified at the hearing, represented by counsel; a vocational expert ("VE"), Francene Geers, also testified. Id. On December 12, 2016, the ALJ issued a decision finding plaintiff not disabled under the Act and denying benefits. Tr. 14-27. Plaintiff requested review before the Appeals Council, which was denied December 20, 2017. Tr. 1-7. Plaintiff then sought review before this Court.3

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff was born in 1971. Tr. 64. She graduated high school and has completed one year of college, and has no specialized job training, or trade or vocational school experience. Tr. 36, 162, 208. She has worked as an inventory merchandiser and retail store manager. Tr. 37, 155, 162, 180. Plaintiff has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, obesity, migraines, chronic pain syndrome, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, right hip degenerative joint disease and trochanteric bursitis, mild lumbar degenerative disc disease, eczema, hypertension, and a heart block. Tr. 243, 254, 266-67, 347-48, 352, 385-86, 389, 403-04, 412, 416, 433-38, 508-09.

LEGAL STANDARD

The court must affirm the Commissioner's decision if it is based on proper legal standards and the findings are supported by substantial evidence in the record. Hammock v. Bowen , 879 F.2d 498, 501 (9th Cir. 1989). Substantial evidence is "more than a mere scintilla. It means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Richardson v. Perales , 402 U.S. 389, 401, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971) (quotation omitted). The court must weigh "both the evidence that supports and detracts from the [Commissioner's] conclusion." Martinez v. Heckler , 807 F.2d 771, 772 (9th Cir. 1986). "Where the evidence as a whole can support either a grant or a denial, [the court] may not substitute [its] judgment for the ALJ's." Massachi v. Astrue , 486 F.3d 1149, 1152 (9th Cir. 2007) (citation omitted); see also Burch v. Barnhart , 400 F.3d 676, 680-81 (9th Cir. 2005) (holding that the court "must uphold the ALJ's decision where the evidence is susceptible to more than one rational interpretation"). "[A] reviewing court must consider the entire record as a whole and may not affirm simply by isolating a specific quantum of supporting evidence." Orn v. Astrue , 495 F.3d 625, 630 (9th Cir. 2007) (quotation omitted).

The initial burden of proof rests upon the claimant to establish disability. Howard v. Heckler , 782 F.2d 1484, 1486 (9th Cir. 1986). To meet this burden, the claimant must demonstrate an "inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected ... to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months." 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(1)(A).

The Commissioner has established a five-step process for determining whether a person is disabled. Bowen v. Yuckert , 482 U.S. 137, 140, 107 S.Ct. 2287, 96 L.Ed.2d 119 (1987) ; 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520, 416.920. First, the Commissioner determines whether a claimant is engaged in "substantial gainful activity"; if so, the claimant is not disabled. Yuckert , 482 U.S. at 140, 107 S.Ct. 2287

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362 F. Supp. 3d 940, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/leah-y-v-berryhill-ord-2019.