Littrell v. Shalala

898 F. Supp. 582, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14014, 1995 WL 570951
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedAugust 16, 1995
DocketNo. C-1-94-180
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 898 F. Supp. 582 (Littrell v. Shalala) 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
Littrell v. Shalala, 898 F. Supp. 582, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14014, 1995 WL 570951 (S.D. Ohio 1995).

Opinion

ORDER

SPIEGEL, Senior District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Defendant Secretary’s Motion to Alter or Amend (doc. 12), this Court’s prior Order (doc. 10), affirming the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation to grant the Plaintiff disability insurance (doc. 7). The Defendant Secretary makes this Motion to Alter or Amend pursuant to Rule 59(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, to which the Plaintiff has responded in Opposition (doc. 13).

I. CASE HISTORY

The Plaintiff, born April 14, 1947, had worked for a bakery for 11 years as a packer/shipper (Tr. 172), when she was injured on the job. She subsequently quit her job in 1984 (Tr. 95). She was 39 years old when [584]*584she allegedly became disabled on August 11, 1986. Thereafter, she attained temporary work by handing out coupons in a grocery store. This, however, was unsuccessful. She was 44 years of age when her disability status under the Social Security Act expired on December 31,1991. She was 46 years old when the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), decided to deny her any further disability benefits.

The Plaintiff filed an application for a period of disability and disability insurance benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act on November 27, 1990. The Social Security Administration denied this application several times, before the Plaintiff was finally able to obtain a hearing in front of an ALJ. Basing his opinion largely upon Vocational Expert (“VE”) testimony, the ALJ denied the Plaintiffs claim. The Plaintiff then filed a request for review of the ALJ’s decision to the Appeals Council, which was denied on February 15, 1994.

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 405(g), the Plaintiff then brought this action for judicial review of the final decision for the Defendant Secretary. The Magistrate Judge issued his Report and Recommendation on October 21, 1994, recommending this Court grant the Plaintiff her disability status and insurance benefits. We affirmed the Magistrate Judge’s decision on February 24, 1995.

II. TIMELINESS OF THE DEFENDANT SECRETARY’S OBJECTIONS

The Defendant Secretary first bases her motion upon the Court’s allegedly incorrect finding that she made untimely objections to the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation. The Defendant Secretary alleges that the filing on November 25, 1994, was timely filed within the Magistrate Judge’s prescribed period.

Rule 6(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure excludes the day of the “act” or the “event” from the prescribed 30-day time period. The “act” or “event” was the 21st of October, 1994, when the Magistrate Judge issued his Report and Recommendation in the Plaintiffs favor. Rule 6(a) also provides that the day following a legal holiday, such as Thanksgiving, shall define the end of the given response period. In addition, Rule 6(e) appends 3 days to that prescribed time period for mail-affected service.

We find that the day of the “act” or “event” was October 21st, 1994, when the Magistrate Judge filed his Report and Recommendation. One day thereafter, abiding by Rule 6(a) in excluding the day of the “act” or “event,” was October 22, 1994, which began the three days for mail-affected service. Therefore, the beginning of the prescribed thirty-day period was October 24, 1994, not October 25,1994, as the Defendant Secretary claims. Thirty days thereafter would fall on the 23rd of November, 1994. Accordingly, we find that the Defendant Secretary’s objections of November 25, 1994, were not timely filed. We hereby dismiss her objections to the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation.

III. APPLICATION OF THE ABBOT DECISION

Even if the Defendant Secretary’s objections had been timely, we would still deny her objections, because the Magistrate Judge and our previous Order correctly decided the matter on its merits. The Defendant Secretary has also moved this Court to alter or amend its prior judgment based upon the Court’s alleged failure to acknowledge controlling case law. Therefore, the Defendant Secretary claims that this Court erred in finding that the Administrative Law Judge’s (“ALJ”) decision was not supported by substantial evidence.

In making this argument, the Defendant Secretary has maintained that this Court expressly disregarded the controlling case law of Abbott v. Sullivan, 905 F.2d 918 (6th Cir.1990). Abbott stands for the proposition that age, when over 45, is a significant factor in determining an individual’s disability status. Abbott’s ramifications on Social Security law extend to Sec. 201.00(h) of the Medical Vocational Guidelines, which evaluates the disability of individuals over the age of 45. For “age is a less positive factor” for those individuals over age 45 than for those under 45. 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpt. P, [585]*585App. 2, See. 201.00(h). Therefore, because the Plaintiff was 44 when her insurance expired, it would appear that Abbott would have an adverse effect upon her disability status.

Though Abbott remains binding case law, we find, however, that it does not address the impact of Social Security Ruling 83-12 on 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpt. P, App. 2, See. 201.00(h). Although the Plaintiff was younger than 45 at the time her insured status expired, and although Abbott would normally leave her without recourse from the ALJ’s adverse judgment, SSR 83-12 creates an area of exception for individuals under 45, whose impairments leave them less able to adapt even to sedentary work. We find that the Plaintiff falls into this category of exigent individuals. SSR-83-12 states the following:

Where an individual’s impairment has not met or equal the criteria of the Listing of Impairments at an earlier step in the sequence of adjudication, but the full range of sedentary work is significantly compromised, section 201.00(h) of Appendix 2 provides that a finding of disabled is not precluded for even younger individuals.

As affected by Social Security Ruling 83-12, See. 201.00(h) does thereby provide the Plaintiff with some relief in stating that “[a] finding of disabled is not ‘precluded for those individuals under age 45 who do not meet all of the criteria of a specific rule, and who do not have the ability to perform a full range of sedentary work.” See Abbott, 905 F.2d at 927 (citing directly to this relevant portion of Sec. 201.00(h)). This pertinent portion of Sec. 201.00(h), thereby moots the Defendant Secretary’s assertions that this Court allegedly misinterpreted the Plaintiffs age. For, though the Plaintiff may have been 44 at the designated time of her uninsured status, she does “not have the ability to perform a full range of sedentary work.” Id.

Moreover, SSR 83-12 states the following in regards to the Plaintiffs sit/stand restrictions:

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Jones v. Commissioner of Social Security
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Bluebook (online)
898 F. Supp. 582, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14014, 1995 WL 570951, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/littrell-v-shalala-ohsd-1995.