Roundtree v. Commissioner of Social Security

CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedSeptember 25, 2019
Docket8:18-cv-01524
StatusUnknown

This text of Roundtree v. Commissioner of Social Security (Roundtree v. Commissioner of Social Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roundtree v. Commissioner of Social Security, (M.D. Fla. 2019).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TAMPA DIVISION

DARLENE ROUNDTREE,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 8:18-cv-1524-T-SPF

ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration,1

Defendant. /

ORDER

Plaintiff seeks judicial review of the denial of her claim for a period of disability and disability insurance benefits (“DIB”). As the Administrative Law Judge’s (“ALJ”) decision was not based on substantial evidence and failed to employ proper legal standards, the Commissioner’s decision is reversed and remanded. I. Procedural Background

Plaintiff filed an application for a period of disability and DIB (Tr. 192-98, 585). The Commissioner denied Plaintiff’s claims both initially and upon reconsideration (Tr. 127-29, 131-32, 585). Plaintiff then requested an administrative hearing (Tr. 133-34). Per Plaintiff’s request, the ALJ held a hearing at which Plaintiff appeared and testified (Tr. 87-120, 154-81, 585). Following the hearing, the ALJ issued an unfavorable decision

1 Andrew M. Saul became Commissioner of Social Security on June 17, 2019. Pursuant to Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Mr. Saul is substituted for Acting Commissioner Nancy A. Berryhill as Defendant in this suit. finding Plaintiff not disabled and accordingly denied Plaintiff’s claims for benefits (Tr. 66- 86). Subsequently, Plaintiff requested review from the Appeals Council, which the Appeals Council denied (Tr. 1-6, 24). Plaintiff sought judicial review in a previous case, 8:18-cv-1718-T-MAP, and the Court remanded the case on September 25, 2015 (Tr. 612-20). Pursuant to the Court’s order, the Appeals Council remanded the case for further development (Tr. 708). Plaintiff had a supplemental hearing before the ALJ on October 12, 2016, at which Plaintiff

appeared and testified (Tr. 625-40). The ALJ issued an unfavorable decision on November 23, 2016 (Tr. 582-99). Subsequently, Plaintiff requested review from the Appeals Council, which the Appeals Council denied (Tr. 573). Plaintiff then timely filed a complaint with this Court (Doc. 1). The case is now ripe for review under 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g), 1383(c)(3). II. Factual Background and the ALJ’s Decision Plaintiff, who was born in 1956, claimed disability beginning May 14, 2010 (Tr. 192). Plaintiff obtained at least a high school education (Tr. 79). Plaintiff has no past relevant work experience2 (Tr. 598). Plaintiff alleged disability due to depression, anxiety

disorder with agoraphobia, panic disorder, personality disorder, chronic pain syndrome primarily in her back, hips and legs, right shoulder osteoarthritis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (“COPD”) (Tr. 916-24, 944-54, 957-59, 971-81).

2 The ALJ noted that while Plaintiff worked in various positions during the fifteen years prior to her date last insured, Plaintiff’s earnings did not rise to the level of substantial gainful activity (Tr. 598). In rendering the administrative decision, the ALJ concluded that Plaintiff met the insured status requirements through December 31, 2015, and had not engaged in substantial gainful activity since May 14, 2010, the alleged onset date (Tr. 588). After conducting a hearing and reviewing the evidence of record, the ALJ determined Plaintiff had the following severe impairments: chronic pain syndrome, COPD, right shoulder osteoarthritis, questionable neuropathy, thyroid disorder, obesity, depression, panic disorder, anxiety disorder, and personality disorder (Tr. 588). Notwithstanding the noted

impairments, the ALJ determined Plaintiff did not have an impairment or combination of impairments that met or medically equaled one of the listed impairments in 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1 (Tr. 588-89). The ALJ then concluded that Plaintiff retained a residual functional capacity (“RFC”) to perform medium work with occasional overhead reaching with the right dominant extremity; can frequently climb ladders, ropes, and scaffolds, stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl as well as exposure to fumes, dusts, gases, odors, and poor ventilation; can understand, carry out, and remember simple instructions in two-hour increments sufficiently enough to complete an 8-hour workday in an environment that does not involve fixed production quotas, only occasional changes in

the work setting, and occasional interaction with co-workers and the general public (Tr. 590). In formulating Plaintiff’s RFC, the ALJ considered Plaintiff’s subjective complaints and determined that, although the evidence established the presence of underlying impairments that reasonably could be expected to produce the symptoms alleged, Plaintiff’s statements as to the intensity, persistence, and limiting effects of her symptoms were not entirely consistent with the medical evidence and other evidence (Tr. 591). Given Plaintiff’s background and RFC, the vocational expert (“VE”) testified that Plaintiff could perform other jobs existing in significant numbers in the national economy, such as hand packager, press tender, and general lithographic worker (Tr. 598). Accordingly, based on Plaintiff’s age, education, work experience, RFC, and the testimony of the VE, the ALJ found Plaintiff not disabled (Tr. 599). III. Legal Standard To be entitled to benefits, a claimant must be disabled, meaning he or she must be

unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death, or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months. 42 U.S.C. §§ 423(d)(1)(A), 1382c(a)(3)(A). A “physical or mental impairment” is an impairment that results from anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities, which are demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques. 42 U.S.C. §§ 423(d)(3), 1382c(a)(3)(D). The Social Security Administration, in order to regularize the adjudicative process, promulgated the detailed regulations currently in effect. These regulations establish a

“sequential evaluation process” to determine whether a claimant is disabled. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520. If an individual is found disabled at any point in the sequential review, further inquiry is unnecessary. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(a). Under this process, the ALJ must determine, in sequence, the following: whether the claimant is currently engaged in substantial gainful activity; whether the claimant has a severe impairment, i.e., one that significantly limits the ability to perform work-related functions; whether the severe impairment meets or equals the medical criteria of 20 C.F.R. Part 404 Subpart P, Appendix 1; and whether the claimant can perform his or her past relevant work. If the claimant cannot perform the tasks required of his or her prior work, step five of the evaluation requires the ALJ to decide if the claimant can do other work in the national economy in view of his or her age, education, and work experience. 20 C.F.R. §

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Roundtree v. Commissioner of Social Security, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roundtree-v-commissioner-of-social-security-flmd-2019.