Cornelius v. Colvin

Filing 21

ORDER denying 14 Defendant's Motion to Remand. Plaintiff shall have to and including 11/18/13, to file an Opening Brief. Signed by Judge G Murray Snow on 10/17/13.(TLJ)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Kristoffer Shaun Cornelius,
Plaintiff,

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No. CV-13-00535-PHX-GMS
ORDER

v.
Carolyn W. Colvin, Acting Commissioner
of Social Security Administration,

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Defendant.

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Pending before the Court is Defendant’s Motion to Remand. (Doc. 14.) For the

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reasons discussed below, the motion is denied.
BACKGROUND

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I.

Procedural Background

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Plaintiff applied for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security

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income on March 29, 2010, alleging disability beginning January 1, 2008. (R. at 30.) He

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meets the insured status requirements of the Social Security Act through September 30,

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2014. (Id.) Plaintiff’s claims were denied both initially and upon reconsideration. (Id.)

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Plaintiff then appealed to an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”). (Id.) The ALJ

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conducted a hearing on the matter on November 29, 2011. (Id.) On January 4, 2012, the

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ALJ applied the five-step sequential evaluation process found in 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520

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and concluded that Plaintiff was not disabled because his residual functional capacity

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(“RFC”) allowed him to perform simple, unskilled work. (Id. at 34.) The Appeals

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Council declined to review the decision (Id. at 2–7), and Plaintiff filed suit in this Court.

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(Doc. 1.). Defendant then filed a Motion to Remand (Doc. 14), which has been fully

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briefed.

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II.

Factual Background

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Plaintiff applied for benefits due to attention deficient hyperactivity disorder,

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depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic

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stress disorder, and sleep deprivation. (R. at 85.) In analyzing the severity of Plaintiff’s

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symptoms, the ALJ looked to Plaintiff’s medical records and to opinion evidence from

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two physicians who examined Plaintiff at the request of the State agency and two of

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Plaintiff’s treating physicians. (Id. at 35–39.) The ALJ further considered Plaintiff’s own

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testimony regarding the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his ability to obtain

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employment and remain employed. (Id. at 34–39.) The ALJ also considered the

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testimony of vocational expert Kathryn Atha. (Id. at 40.)
DISCUSSION

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I.

Legal Standard

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In a claim seeking review of a denial of social security benefits, “[t]he court shall

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have power to enter, upon the pleadings and transcript of the record, a judgment

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affirming, modifying, or reversing the decision of the Commissioner of Social Security,

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with or without remanding the cause for a rehearing.” 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). “If additional

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proceedings can remedy defects in the original administrative proceeding, a social

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security case should be remanded.” Marcia v. Sullivan, 900 F.2d 172, 176 (9th Cir.

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1990). On the other hand, when “the question of whether [a claimant] is eligible for

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benefits turns entirely on the credibility” of a plaintiff's testimony, and the district court

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finds that the ALJ improperly discredited that testimony, remand for further proceedings

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is inappropriate, and the court should instead remand for a calculation of benefits. Moisa

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v. Barnhart, 367 F.3d 882, 887 (9th Cir. 2004).

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II.

Analysis

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Defendant argues that the record here presents outstanding issues that must be

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resolved. Defendant argues that the ALJ should be directed on remand to (1) give

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additional consideration to the medical opinion of Dr. Steingard and specify reasons for

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the weight assigned to her opinion; (2) further evaluate Plaintiff’s RFC; and (3) obtain

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additional vocational expert evidence in order to clarify the effect of Plaintiff’s RFC on

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his occupational base. (Doc. 14 at 2.) However, Defendant fails to demonstrate good

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cause to justify remanding this case for further proceedings.

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The ALJ found that Dr. Steingard’s opinion was “rendered by a qualified,

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objective acceptable medical source that considered the claimant’s subjective

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complaints” and that “the rationale expressed by this consultant and the conclusions

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reached are consistent with the treatment record, objective findings, opinion evidence,

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and the medical evidence as a whole.” (R. at 37.) Accordingly, the ALJ afforded her

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opinion significant weight. (Id.) Defendant now asserts that the ALJ incorporated some of

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Dr. Steingard’s opinions into her ultimate RFC finding, but did not incorporate Dr.

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Steingard’s opinion regarding Plaintiff’s persistence. Defendant states that the ALJ may

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have intended to discount some of Dr. Steingard’s findings on this subject, but that the

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ALJ failed to explicitly state this in her decision. Defendant would direct the ALJ to be

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more specific in her consideration of Dr. Steingard’s opinions on remand. However,

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nothing in the ALJ’s decision suggests any hesitance regarding the ALJ’s ultimate

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decision to give significant weight to Dr. Steingard’s opinions.

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Defendant further argues that the ALJ should have the opportunity on remand to

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potentially reassess the Plaintiff’s RFC, and then obtain additional vocational expert

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evidence on the effects of Plaintiff’s RFC on his occupational base, should that additional

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testimony become relevant. (Doc. 15 at 4.) Defendant fails to show good cause for

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affording the agency an additional opportunity to consider the same evidence the ALJ

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already considered in her opinion, or to have the opportunity to obtain further vocational

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expert evidence, beyond the evidence already provided by Kathryn Atha (R. at 74–81.)

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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:

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1.

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Defendant’s Motion to Remand (Doc. 14) is denied.

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Opening Brief.

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Plaintiff shall have to and including November 18, 2013, to file an

Dated this 17th day of October, 2013.

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