Perea v. Sullivan

771 F. Supp. 1110, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12604, 1991 WL 175394
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedAugust 28, 1991
DocketCiv. A. No. 89-S-2214
StatusPublished

This text of 771 F. Supp. 1110 (Perea v. Sullivan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Perea v. Sullivan, 771 F. Supp. 1110, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12604, 1991 WL 175394 (D. Colo. 1991).

Opinion

ORDER

SPARR, District Judge.

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s complaint to review a final decision of the Defendant Secretary. Jurisdiction is proper under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). After careful review of the briefs sub[1112]*1112mitted and the record filed, the Court finds and rules as follows.

Background

The Plaintiff applied for disability insurance benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). Plaintiff filed her application for disability benefits on January 5, 1987. A hearing was held on January 7, 1988, and the Administrative Law Judge (AU) issued an unfavorable decision on April 14, 1988. Plaintiff then filed a request for review of that decision with the Appeals Council, which was granted. The Appeals Council remanded the decision to the ALJ for further proceedings. On February 2, 1989, the ALJ held a hearing and issued his decision, unfavorable to the Plaintiff, on March 28, 1989. The Appeals Council declined reconsideration of that decision on October 27, 1989. The AU’s decision of March 28, 1989 is the final decision of the Secretary for purposes of this review.

Plaintiffs Arguments

In her complaint, Plaintiff claims that the decision is not based on substantial evidence. In addition, Plaintiff argues that the Secretary applied the incorrect legal standards, and in particular, in its failure to (1) give sufficient weight to Plaintiffs testimony as to pain and dysfunction; (2) properly apply the list of impairments or consider them in combination; and (3) consider Plaintiff’s religious beliefs.

Standard of Review

This action challenges the Health and Human Services Secretary’s final decision denying application for disability insurance benefits under Title XVI. The Court’s function is to determine whether the Secretary’s decision is supported by substantial evidence. Campbell v. Bowen, 822 F.2d 1518, 1521 (10th Cir.1987). The Court must affirm the Secretary’s decision if it is supported by substantial evidence. Eggleston v. Bowen, 851 F.2d 1244, 1246 (10th Cir.1988). Substantial evidence has been defined as such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. Frey v. Bowen, 816 F.2d 508, 512 (10th Cir.1987). The Tenth Circuit has also noted that a decision is not based on substantial evidence if it is overwhelmed by other evidence in the record or if it is based on a mere scintilla of evidence supporting it. Bernal v. Bowen, 851 F.2d 297, 299 (10th Cir.1988). In this regard, the court cannot reweigh evidence or substitute its judgment for that of the agency. Id. at 299, citing Jordan v. Heckler, 835 F.2d 1314, 1316 (10th Cir.1987).

Burdens of the Parties

Under the Social Security Act, the claimant bears the burden of proving disability as defined under the Act, which precludes her from engaging in her prior work activity. Gossett v. Bowen, 862 F.2d 802, 804 (10th Cir.1989), citing Reyes v. Bowen, 845 F.2d 242 (10th Cir.1988). The claimant bears the burden of proving a disability within the meaning of the Social Security Act. 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(5). Once the claimant makes a prima facie showing of disability that prevents her engaging in her prior work activity, however, the burden of going forward shifts to the Secretary, who must show that the claimant retains the capacity to perform an alternative work activity and that this specific type of job exists in the national economy. 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(2)(A). Dollar v. Bowen, 821 F.2d 530, 532 (10th Cir.1987), citing Channel v. Heckler, 747 F.2d 577, 579 (10th Cir.1984) (per curiam). If a claimant cannot return to her past work, the Secretary has the burden of showing, by producing evidence, that the claimant retains the ability to perform alternative work and that such work exists in the national economy. Campbell v. Bowen, 822 F.2d 1518, 1522 (10th Cir.1987). If the Secretary fails to meet this burden, a finding that the claimant is disabled is warranted. Frey v. Bowen, 816 F.2d at 512. In this review, the Court examines whether the Secretary met its burden, as the AU determined that Plaintiff could not perform her past relevant work. With regard to Plaintiff’s contention that the AU applied incorrect legal standards, the Court notes that the failure to apply the correct legal standard is also [1113]*1113grounds for reversal. Frey v. Bowen, 816 F.2d 508, 512 (10th Cir.1987), citing Byron v. Heckler, 742 F.2d 1232, 1235 (10th Cir. 1984).

Analysis of Plaintiff s Claims

Concerning Plaintiffs first argument, that the AU failed to give sufficient weight to Plaintiffs testimony as to pain and disfunction, the Court notes that its scope of review is a narrow one. The Court cannot reweigh evidence or substitute its judgment for that of the agency. Bernal v. Bowen, 851 F.2d 297, 299 (10th Cir.1988) citing Jordan v. Heckler, 835 F.2d 1314, 1316 (10th Cir.1987). The AU found that Plaintiff was not precluded from performing a wide range of light work such as that identified by the vocational expert. That finding by the AU accounted for limitations due to the condition of Plaintiffs elbow, but discounted the effect of Plaintiffs other asserted impairments such as “urinary problems” and “female problems” as these conditions had not been established by any medical evidence. Subjective testimony that the claimant suffers pain, by itself, cannot establish a finding of disability. Gossett v. Bowen, 862 F.2d 802, 806 (10th Cir.1989).

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Related

Channel v. Heckler
747 F.2d 577 (Tenth Circuit, 1984)
Dollar v. Bowen
821 F.2d 530 (Tenth Circuit, 1987)
Luna v. Bowen
834 F.2d 161 (Tenth Circuit, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
771 F. Supp. 1110, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12604, 1991 WL 175394, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perea-v-sullivan-cod-1991.