Laure Keffer v. Michael Astrue

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 7:11-cv-00478-SGW-RSB Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999092355].. [12-2252]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 12-2252

LAURE ANN KEFFER,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Acting Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of Virginia, at Roanoke.
Samuel G. Wilson, District
Judge. (7:11-cv-00478-SGW-RSB)

Submitted:

April 8, 2013

Decided:

April 23, 2013

Before NIEMEYER, MOTZ, and AGEE, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Mark A. Black, BRUMBERG, MACKEY & WALL, P.L.C., Roanoke,
Virginia, for Appellant.
Eric P. Kressman, Regional Chief
Counsel, Victor J. Pane, Supervisory Attorney, Timothy Reiley,
Special Assistant United States Attorney, SOCIAL SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Timothy J. Heaphy,
United States Attorney, Rick Mountcastle, Assistant United
States Attorney, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Laure Ann Keffer appeals the district court’s order
adopting the magistrate judge’s recommendation and upholding the
Commissioner of Social Security’s decision to deny her a period
of disability insurance benefits.

We have reviewed the record

and affirm.
Our

review

of

the

Commissioner’s

disability

determination is limited to evaluating whether the findings are
supported by substantial evidence and whether the correct law
was applied.
Cir.

2005)

See Johnson v. Barnhart, 434 F.3d 650, 653 (4th

(per

curiam)

(citing

42

U.S.C.

§

405(g)

(2006)).

“Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable
mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.”
(internal quotation marks omitted).
or

make

credibility

decision

is

conflicting

evidence

We do not reweigh evidence

determinations

supported

by

allows

Id.

in

evaluating

substantial
reasonable

defer to the Commissioner’s decision.

whether

evidence;

minds

to

a

“[w]here

differ,”

we

Id.

On appeal, Keffer asserts that the administrative law
judge’s

(“ALJ”)

residual

functional

supported by substantial evidence.
mischaracterized

Keffer’s

capacity

finding

was

not

According to Keffer, the ALJ

evidence

relating

to

her

daily

activities, ignored the fact that her subjective complaints of
pain

were

supported

by

the

objective
2

medical

record,

and

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improperly rejected a clinical assessment of pain completed by
Dr. Bayliss, who was Keffer’s treating physician.
the

record

contentions,

convinces

us

otherwise.

substantial

evidence

Our review of

Contrary

to

supported

Keffer’s

the

ALJ’s

construction of the record, including his decision to partially
discredit Keffer’s subjective complaints of pain in light of the
objective medical evidence.

See Johnson, 434 F.3d at 658.

Nor

do we discern any reversible error in the ALJ’s decision to give
only limited weight to the terse and heavily-qualified opinion
rendered by Dr. Bayliss.

See Mastro v. Apfel, 270 F.3d 171, 178

(4th Cir. 2001).
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district
court.
legal
before

We dispense with oral argument because the facts and
contentions
this

court

are

adequately

and

argument

presented

would

not

in
aid

the
the

materials
decisional

process.
AFFIRMED

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