Montanez v. Berryhill

334 F. Supp. 3d 562
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedNovember 26, 2018
Docket17-CV-6598L
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 334 F. Supp. 3d 562 (Montanez v. Berryhill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Montanez v. Berryhill, 334 F. Supp. 3d 562 (W.D.N.Y. 2018).

Opinion

DAVID G. LARIMER, United States District Judge

Plaintiff appeals from a denial of disability benefits by the Commissioner of Social Security ("the Commissioner"). The action is one brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) to review the Commissioner's final determination.

On December 6, 2013, plaintiff filed an application for supplemental security income, alleging an inability to work since December 5, 2013. (Administrative Transcript, Dkt. # 9 at 15). His application was initially denied. Plaintiff requested a hearing, which was held on February 11, 2016 via videoconference before Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") Michael Carr. The ALJ issued a decision on March 30, 2016, concluding that plaintiff was not disabled under the Social Security Act. (Dkt. # 9 at 15-23). That decision became the final decision of the Commissioner when the Appeals Council denied review on July 3, 2017. (Dkt. # 9 at 1-3). Plaintiff now appeals from that decision.

The plaintiff has moved (Dkt. # 12), and the Commissioner has cross moved (Dkt. # 15) for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 12(c). For the reasons set forth below, the plaintiff's motion is granted, the Commissioner's cross motion is denied, and the matter is remanded for further proceedings.

DISCUSSION

Determination of whether a claimant is disabled within the meaning of the Social *564Security Act follows a well-known five-step sequential evaluation, familiarity with which is presumed. See Bowen v. City of New York , 476 U.S. 467, 470-71, 106 S.Ct. 2022, 90 L.Ed.2d 462 (1986). See 20 CFR §§ 404.1509, 404.1520. The Commissioner's decision that a plaintiff is not disabled must be affirmed if it is supported by substantial evidence, and if the ALJ applied the correct legal standards. See 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) ; Machadio v. Apfel , 276 F.3d 103, 108 (2d Cir. 2002).

The ALJ summarized plaintiff's medical records, particularly his treatment notes for schizophrenia, which the ALJ concluded constituted a severe impairment not meeting or equaling a listed impairment. The ALJ found that plaintiff, then a 36-year-old man with a limited education, unable to communicate in English and with no past relevant work, has the residual functional capacity ("RFC") to perform work at all exertional levels, but with limitations to performing simple, routine and repetitive tasks; making simple work-related decisions; only occasional contact with supervisors, coworkers, and the general public; and no work that requires a specific production rate. (Dkt. # 9 at 19). When presented with this RFC at the hearing, vocational expert Carly Coughlin testified that an individual with these limitations could perform the positions of dishwasher, packager, and buser. The ALJ accordingly found plaintiff not disabled. (Dkt. # 9 at 22).

I. Medical Opinions of Record

The Court notes that the record does not contain any medical opinions from a treating physician specific to plaintiff's treatment for schizophrenia, such as a treating psychologist or psychiatrist, since plaintiff's prior mental health treatment appears to have been rendered primarily by non-physician specialists. As such, the only opinions by physicians and treating sources concerning plaintiff's mental limitations and mental health treatment derive from consulting and/or examining physicians, non-physician therapists, and a stage agency review physician. While the opinions of consulting and examining physicians and non-acceptable medical sources are not entitled to controlling weight, in the absence of a controlling treating physician opinion, such opinions "take[ ] on particular significance." Dioguardi v. Commissioner , 445 F.Supp.2d 288, 295 (W.D.N.Y. 2006). In such circumstances, an ALJ must consider opinions by each of these sources using the same factors that are typically used to evaluate the opinions of treating physicians (e.g., physician's area of specialty, whether opinion is supported by objective testing or other evidence of record), and must explain in his decision the weight given to each and the reasons therefor. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1527(c)(1)-(6), § 404.1527(f)(1). The ALJ's failure to do so constitutes grounds for remand. See generally Somerville v. Colvin , 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59964 at *19-*21 (E.D.N.Y. 2018); Stytzer v. Astrue , 2010 WL 3907771, at *7, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103770 at *22-*24 (N.D.N.Y. 2010).

Here, the ALJ erred in his consideration of the medical opinions of record. Initially, the ALJ assigned "some" weight to the opinion of consulting psychologist Dr. Yu-Ying Lin. Noting that Dr. Lin had seen plaintiff on only one occasion, the ALJ rejected Dr. Lin's more restrictive findings - that plaintiff is "moderately to markedly limited" in learning new tasks and that he requires supervision for even simple tasks - and concluded instead that "the totality of the record aligns more on the moderate side of severity." (Dkt. # 9 at 21). The ALJ did not describe the "totality of the record" that supported this finding, although it is possible that the ALJ was referring to the limited selection *565of evidence he had discussed previously in the opinion, comprised of treatment records demonstrating plaintiff's inconsistent medication management, periodic presentation with normal mood and affect at some medical appointments, and some of his Global Assessment of Functioning ("GAF") scores. (Dkt. # 9 at 20).

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334 F. Supp. 3d 562, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/montanez-v-berryhill-nywd-2018.