(SS) Anderson v. Commissioner of Social Security

District Court, E.D. California·Decided September 19, 2024·No. 1:23-cv-01161·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ERIC WESLEY ANDERSON, Case No. 1:23-cv-01161-HBK 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, DENYING 13 v. DEFENDANT’S CROSS-MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND 14 MARTIN O’MALLEY, REMANDING CASE TO COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL OF SOCIAL SECURITY2 15 SECURITY,1 (Doc. Nos. 15, 17) 16 Defendant. 17 18 19 Eric Wesley Anderson (“Plaintiff”) seeks judicial review of a final decision of the 20 Commissioner of Social Security (“Commissioner” or “Defendant”) denying his application for 21 supplemental security income under the Social Security Act. (Doc. No. 1). The matter is 22 currently before the Court on the parties’ briefs, which were submitted without oral argument. 23 (Doc. Nos. 15, 17-18). For the reasons stated, the Court grants Plaintiff’s motion for summary 24 judgment, denies Defendant’s motion for summary judgment, and orders this matter remanded to 25

26 1 The Court has substituted Martin O’Malley, who has been appointed the Acting Commissioner of Social Security, as the defendant in this suit. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d). 27 2 Both parties have consented to the jurisdiction of a magistrate judge, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §636(c)(1). (Doc. No. 10). 28 1 the Commissioner of Social Security for further administrative proceedings. 2 I. JURISDICTION 3 Plaintiff filed for supplemental security income on May 29, 2020, alleging an onset date 4 of February 20, 2017. (AR 231-40). At the hearing, Plaintiff amended the alleged onset date to 5 May 29, 2020. (AR 47). Benefits were denied initially (AR 73-85, 107-12), and upon 6 reconsideration (AR 86-101, 114-19). Plaintiff appeared telephonically before an Administrative 7 Law Judge (“ALJ”) on September 1, 2022. (AR 42-72). Plaintiff was represented by counsel and 8 testified at the hearing. (Id.). The ALJ issued an unfavorable decision (AR 24-41), and the 9 Appeals Council denied review (AR 11-16). The matter is now before this Court pursuant to 42 10 U.S.C. § 1383(c)(3). 11 II. BACKGROUND 12 The facts of the case are set forth in the administrative hearing and transcripts, the ALJ’s 13 decision, and the briefs of Plaintiff and Commissioner. Only the most pertinent facts are 14 summarized here. 15 Plaintiff was 45 years old at the time of the hearing. (See AR 50). He graduated from 16 high school. (AR 50). He lives alone. (AR 48). Plaintiff has past relevant work history as a 17 newspaper delivery driver. (AR 51, 63). Plaintiff testified that he has “extreme breathing 18 problems” after having 20% of his lung removed, especially when the weather gets very hot or 19 cold, and he has chest pain. (AR 54-55, 57). He reported lower back pain that radiates into his 20 legs and hip, and throbbing pain in his hip. (AR 55-56, 61). He can stand in one place for 35 21 minutes to 1 hour before he needs to take a break for two hours, he can sit for 30 minutes at a 22 time, he spends 4 hours every day laying down for 1 hour at a time, and he can lift and carry ten 23 pounds at the most. (AR 56-58). Plaintiff testified that he can do something like wash the dishes 24 for 15 to 20 minutes before he must stop for 5 to 10 minutes. (AR 59). He reported he has seen a 25 mental health counselor once a month for three months, and he has panic attacks. (AR 60, 69). 26 III. STANDARD OF REVIEW 27 A district court’s review of a final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security is 28 governed by 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). The scope of review under § 405(g) is limited; the 1 Commissioner’s decision will be disturbed “only if it is not supported by substantial evidence or 2 is based on legal error.” Hill v. Astrue, 698 F.3d 1153, 1158 (9th Cir. 2012). “Substantial 3 evidence” means “relevant evidence that a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a 4 conclusion.” Id. at 1159 (quotation and citation omitted). Stated differently, substantial evidence 5 equates to “more than a mere scintilla[,] but less than a preponderance.” Id. (quotation and 6 citation omitted). In determining whether the standard has been satisfied, a reviewing court must 7 consider the entire record as a whole rather than searching for supporting evidence in isolation. 8 Id. 9 In reviewing a denial of benefits, a district court may not substitute its judgment for that of 10 the Commissioner. “The court will uphold the ALJ's conclusion when the evidence is susceptible 11 to more than one rational interpretation.” Tommasetti v. Astrue, 533 F.3d 1035, 1038 (9th Cir. 12 2008). Further, a district court will not reverse an ALJ’s decision on account of an error that is 13 harmless. Id. An error is harmless where it is “inconsequential to the [ALJ’s] ultimate 14 nondisability determination.” Id. (quotation and citation omitted). The party appealing the ALJ’s 15 decision generally bears the burden of establishing that it was harmed. Shinseki v. Sanders, 556 16 U.S. 396, 409-10 (2009). 17 IV. FIVE-STEP SEQUENTIAL EVALUATION PROCESS 18 A claimant must satisfy two conditions to be considered “disabled” within the meaning of 19 the Social Security Act. First, the claimant must be “unable to engage in any substantial gainful 20 activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be 21 expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period 22 of not less than twelve months.” 42 U.S.C. § 1382c(a)(3)(A). Second, the claimant’s impairment 23 must be “of such severity that he is not only unable to do his previous work[,] but cannot, 24 considering his age, education, and work experience, engage in any other kind of substantial 25 gainful work which exists in the national economy.” 42 U.S.C. § 1382c(a)(3)(B). 26 The Commissioner has established a five-step sequential analysis to determine whether a 27 claimant satisfies the above criteria. See 20 C.F.R. § 416.920(a)(4)(i)-(v). At step one, the 28 Commissioner considers the claimant’s work activity. 20 C.F.R. § 416.920(a)(4)(i). If the 1 claimant is engaged in “substantial gainful activity,” the Commissioner must find that the 2 claimant is not disabled. 20 C.F.R. § 416.920(b). 3 If the claimant is not engaged in substantial gainful activity, the analysis proceeds to step 4 two. At this step, the Commissioner considers the severity of the claimant’s impairment. 20 5 C.F.R. § 416.920(a)(4)(ii). If the claimant suffers from “any impairment or combination of 6 impairments which significantly limits [his or her] physical or mental ability to do basic work 7 activities,” the analysis proceeds to step three. 20 C.F.R. § 416.920(c).

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