(SS) Tyson v. Commissioner of Social Security

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedMarch 1, 2023
Docket1:21-cv-00688
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
(SS) Tyson v. Commissioner of Social Security, (E.D. Cal. 2023).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 GLORIA D. TYSON, Case No. 1:21-cv-00688-BAM 12 Plaintiff, ORDER REGARDING SOCIAL SECURITY 13 v. COMPLAINT 14 KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Acting Commissioner (Docs. 15, 18) 15 of Social Security,1 16 Defendant. 17

18 INTRODUCTION 19 Plaintiff Gloria D. Tyson (“Plaintiff”) seeks judicial review of a final decision of the 20 Commissioner of Social Security (“Commissioner”) denying her application for disability insurance 21 benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act. The matter is currently before the Court on the 22 parties’ briefs, which were submitted, without oral argument, to Magistrate Judge Barbara A. 23 McAuliffe.2 24 25

26 1 Kilolo Kijakazi became the Acting Commissioner of Social Security on July 9, 2021. Pursuant to Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Kilolo Kijakazi is substituted for Andrew Saul as the defendant in this 27 suit. 2 The parties consented to have a United States Magistrate Judge conduct all proceedings in this case, including 28 entry of final judgment, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). (Docs. 9, 10, 11.) 1 Having considered the briefing and record in this matter, the Court finds that the decision of 2 the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) is supported by substantial evidence in the record as a whole 3 and based upon proper legal standards. Accordingly, this Court will deny Plaintiff’s appeal and affirm 4 the agency’s determination to deny benefits. 5 FACTS AND PRIOR PROCEEDINGS 6 Plaintiff filed an application for disability insurance benefits on February 23, 2018. AR 157- 7 58.3 Plaintiff alleged that she became disabled on July 1, 2017, due to depression, anxiety, sleep 8 disorder – insomnia, arthritis, headaches/migraines, diverticulitis, and diabetes. AR 174-75. 9 Plaintiff’s application was denied initially and on reconsideration. AR 90-94, 96-100. Subsequently, 10 Plaintiff requested a hearing before an ALJ. Following a hearing, ALJ Trevor Skarda issued an order 11 denying benefits on December 18, 2019. AR 13-27, 31-56. Thereafter, Plaintiff sought review of the 12 decision, which the Appeals Counsel denied, making the ALJ’s decision the Commissioner’s final 13 decision. AR 1-6. This appeal followed. 14 Hearing Testimony 15 ALJ Skarda held a hearing on October 29, 2019, in Stockton, California. Plaintiff appeared 16 with her attorney, David Tillinger. Robert Raschke, an impartial vocational expert, also appeared and 17 testified. AR 33. 18 In response to questions from her attorney, Plaintiff testified that she stopped working because 19 of anxiety and depression. She had difficulty dealing with the people and the nature of the crimes that 20 were committed that she had to examine. She currently has difficulties dealing with stress. She shuts 21 down completely. AR 37-38. She is not able to leave the house without stress. Her husband will not 22 allow her to leave the house by herself because he is not sure if she will be able to function and get 23 back. There are times in public when she has been unable to function. AR 39-40. 24 When asked about day-to-day things, Plaintiff testified that she starts something, but then she 25 stops and then does not remember what she was doing. She has to have a reminder from her husband 26 27 3 References to the Administrative Record will be designated as “AR,” followed by the appropriate page 28 number. 1 to take her medication. AR 40-41. She can dress herself, but she cannot put on her own shoes and 2 socks. She showers every day and does light cleaning around the house. She dusts with a rag about 3 three times a week. It will take her one to two hours, but she has to take breaks during the process. 4 AR 41-42. 5 Plaintiff testified that she has problems sitting because of her back and she tries to get up about 6 every 10 minutes to move around. She has problems walking and can only stand or walk about 10 7 minutes before she needs to sit down for about 10 to 15 minutes. She spends most of her day 8 alternating between sitting and standing. She also will lie down during the day for about three or four 9 hours. AR 42-44. 10 When asked about her migraines, Plaintiff testified that she has migraines three to four times a 11 week. They normally last about hour or hour and a half, with a 30-minute to one-hour recovery. She 12 has to be in the dark with no light. AR 44. 13 In response to questions from the ALJ, Plaintiff testified that she does not use a cane. She does 14 not engage in social or religious activities on a regular basis outside of her house. She also does not 15 take trips or vacations out of the area. She last had any kind of diverticulitis about four months prior 16 to the hearing. She takes medications, which include Flexeril for depression and Meclizine for 17 vertigo, which causes Plaintiff depression. AR 44-46. 18 When asked about a typical day, Plaintiff testified that she would be sitting and standing, 19 looking out the window. A typical day does not include any driving. She does not do any typing or 20 corresponding. She is on Facebook. She also attended a reunion about a year prior to the hearing, 21 which was stressful because she could not remember people that she should have remembered. She 22 does not belong to any clubs or groups. AR 45-48. 23 When asked about her knees, Plaintiff testified that she has a torn meniscus in her left knee and 24 a baker’s cyst. They are not going to do a surgical intervention because her doctor does not think it 25 would help. Her doctor recommended that she not do any type of knee replacement. She only takes 26 Ibuprofen for pain. She also takes medication for her migraines that she supplements with Excedrin 27 Migraine. AR 48-49. 28 1 Following Plaintiff’s testimony, the ALJ elicited testimony from the VE. The VE 2 characterized Plaintiff’s past work as general manager in a bank and legal aid paralegal. AR 50. The 3 ALJ then asked the VE hypothetical questions. For the first hypothetical, the ALJ asked the VE to 4 assume a person of Plaintiff’s age, education, and work experience, who is limited to light work. This 5 individual could stand or walk no more than four hours in an eight-hour day in combination. This 6 individual could frequently bilaterally push or pull or operate foot controls with the lower extremities, 7 could occasionally climb ramps or stairs, but could never climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds, could 8 frequently balance, and could occasionally stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl. This individual must 9 avoid concentrated exposure to extreme cold, excessive vibration, and moderate exposure to hazards, 10 defined as exposure of operational control of dangerous moving machinery and unprotected heights. 11 The VE testified that there was nothing in the hypothetical that would prevent the bank job. AR 50- 12 51. 13 For the second hypothetical, the ALJ asked the VE to consider an individual with an additional 14 limitation of up to four-step tasks. The VE testified that such an individual could not perform the bank 15 job because it is a highly complex job. AR 52. 16 For the third hypothetical, the VE confirmed that a person limited to simple, routine, repetitive 17 task would not be able to perform Plaintiff’s past work. AR 52. If the person in hypothetical one was 18 off task 15 percent or more per hour, there would be no work for that individual. If the individual was 19 absent one and a half days per month, there would be no work. AR 53. 20 Medical Record 21 The relevant medical record was reviewed by the Court and will be referenced below as 22 necessary to this Court’s decision.

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(SS) Tyson v. Commissioner of Social Security, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ss-tyson-v-commissioner-of-social-security-caed-2023.