Piscope v. Colvin

201 F. Supp. 3d 456, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112704, 2016 WL 4429891
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedAugust 23, 2016
Docket15 Civ. 8745 (GWG)
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 201 F. Supp. 3d 456 (Piscope v. Colvin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Piscope v. Colvin, 201 F. Supp. 3d 456, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112704, 2016 WL 4429891 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GABRIEL W. GORENSTEIN, United States Magistrate Judge

Plaintiff Mark Piscope brings this action under 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c)(3) to obtain judicial review of the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security denying his claim for social security income and disability insurance benefits under the Social Security Act. Both Pi-scope and the Commissioner have moved for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c).1 For the reasons [458]*458stated below, the Commissioner’s motion is denied and Piscope’s motion for remand is granted.

1. BACKGROUND

A.Piscope’s Claim for Benefits and Procedural History

Piscope filed applications for benefits on February 25, 2014, alleging disability beginning on July 1, 2012. See SSA Administrative Record, filed May 26, 2016 (Docket # 23) (“R.”), at 144-55. The Social Security Administration denied these applications on April 4, 2014. R. 87-94. Piscope then filed a request for a hearing before an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) to dispute the denial of his application. R. 95-96. On April 1, 2015, a hearing was held before ALJ Mark Solomon during which Piscope was represented by an attorney. R. 19, 28. Testimony was taken from vocational expert Yaakov Taitz. R. 19. On April 21, 2015, the ALJ issued a decision finding that Piscope was not disabled. R. 19-28. The Appeals Council denied Piscope’s request for review on September 11, 2015, making the ALJ’s determination the Commissioner’s final decision. R. 1-7. Piscope filed the instant lawsuit to review that determination on November 6, 2015. Complaint, filed Nov. 6, 2015 (Docket # 1).

B.The ALJ’s Decision

On April 21, 2015, the ALJ ruled that Piscope had not been under a disability since July 1, 2012. R. 28. In his decision, the ALJ used the five-step sequential evaluation process described in the Social Security regulations for determining whether an individual is disabled. R. 20-21; 20 C.F.R. 416.920(a). First, the ALJ found that Piscope met the insured status requirement of the Social Security Act through December 31, 2017. R. 21. Second, he concluded that Piscope had “not engaged in substantial gainful activity since July 1, 2012.” Id. Third, the ALJ found that Piscope suffered from the following severe impairments: “HIV positive, PTSD, adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood.” Id. He also determined that Piscope was impaired by a number of other, non-severe physical impairments. R. 21-22. Fourth, the ALJ found that Piscope did not have “an impairment or combination of impairments that me[t] or medically equaled] the severity of one of the listed impairments in 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1.” R. 22. In reaching this determination, the ALJ first reviewed whether the “‘paragraph B’ criteria” were satisfied.2 The ALJ stated that Piscope’s medical records “show that [he] has no psychosis, has denied manic symptoms, has no episodes of decompensation, no audio or visual halluci[459]*459nations, and no suicidal ideation.” R, 22. The ALJ noted that Piscope provided contradictory statements to his primary doctor and to the consulting examiner regarding his difficulty falling asleep and loss of appetite. Id. The ALJ also highlighted that an examination by “the consulting examiner found mild impairments in attention and concentration, and mild impairments [to] memory.” Id. Overall, the ALJ found that Piscope suffered only a “mild restriction” in activities of daily living, and “moderate difficulties” in social functioning, concentration, and persistence and pace. Id. He also found no evidence that Piscope experienced any episodes of decompensation of an extended duration. Id. The ALJ then reviewed whether the “paragraph C” criteria were satisfied, and similarly determined that the criteria had not been met. R. 23.3

Fifth, the ALJ determined that Piscope held the residual functional capacity (“RFC”) to perform the following:

light work as defined in 20 CFR 404.1567(b) and 416.967(b) except claimant can remember, understand and carry out simple instructions, make simple work-related decisions, maintain attention and concentration for rote work, maintain a regular schedule, and can perform a low stress job defined as one with only occasional close interpersonal contact with the general public.

Id. In reaching this determination, although the ALJ implicitly found that Pi-scope’s medically determinable impairments could reasonably be expected to cause the alleged symptoms, he found that Piscope’s description of the intensity and limiting effect of the symptoms was not entirely credible. R. 23-24. First, the ALJ noted that although “it would be fully understandable that [Piscope] became depressed and anxious because of a loss of his business and the ensuing finaneial/liv-ing condition (being in [a] shelter),” his medical record makes “clear that his psychiatric problems (anxiety and depression) are due to lack of work, and not that his lack of work is due to psychiatric conditions.” R. 24. Second, the ALJ highlighted that Piscope had normal cognition, ■ no manic disorder, no audio or visual hallucinations, no episodes of decompensation* and that “nothing in the record suggests that [Piscope’s] daily activities are substantially limited due to psychiatric issues.” Id. The ALJ also determined that the medical records failed to support the physical limitations alleged. Id.

With regard to the opinion evidence, the ALJ first reviewed the May 21, 2014, medical source statement of Dr. Joseph Olivi-eri, one of Piscope’s treating physicians. R. 25. Dr. Olivieri had opined that Piscope was limited by fatigue and required two naps per day. Id. Dr; Olivieri also reported that Dr. Olivieri- found that Piscope had “some difficulties in the office environment responding appropriately to others.” Id. The ALJ granted “partial weight” to Dr. Olivieri’s findings, due to his short-term treatment relationship with Piscope, as of May 21, 2014, and because his suggested limitations were not supported by his, or his predecessor Dr. Messihi’s, treatment notes, which documented “few manifestations of HIV limitations,” no side effects of medication, only occasional fatigue, and an ability to “perform activities of daily living.” R. 25.

The ALJ then reviewed the opinion of treating psychiatrist Dr. Rybakov. Id. The ALJ noted that Dr. Rybakov found “marked to extreme limitations in all areas.” Id. The ALJ, however, granted only [460]*460“partial weight” to these findings, because they were “not supported by treatment notes or by [Piscope’s] actual functioning.” Id. The ALJ noted that notwithstanding Dr. Rybakov’s findings, Piscope “is without any significant cognitive defects, psychosis, audio visual hallucinations, episodes of de-compensation, or mania.” Id.

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201 F. Supp. 3d 456, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112704, 2016 WL 4429891, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/piscope-v-colvin-nysd-2016.