Love v. Colvin
Filing
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ORDER: The final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security is REVERSED and this matter is REMANDED for an award of benefits. Signed by Judge Douglas L Rayes on 3/21/2018. (REK)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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Jeffery Jay Love,
Plaintiff,
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ORDER
v.
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No. CV-16-03267-PHX-DLR
Commissioner of Social Security
Administration,
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Defendant.
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Plaintiff Jeffery Love appeals the Commissioner of the Social Security
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Administration’s (“Commissioner”) denial of his application for Supplemental Security
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Income (“SSI”) benefits. The Court will eschew a lengthy recitation of the administrative
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proceedings because, in response to Love’s opening brief, the Commissioner concedes
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error and requests that the Court remand this case for further administrative proceedings.
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The sole disputed issue is whether further proceedings are necessary or whether the Court
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should remand for an immediate award of benefits.
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When the Commissioner’s decision is tainted by legal error or not supported by
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substantial evidence, the Court has discretion to reverse and remand either for further
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proceedings or for an award of benefits. 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). With that said, “[a]n
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automatic award of benefits in a disability case is a rare and prophylactic exception to the
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well-established ordinary remand rule.” Leon v. Berryhill, 880 F.3d 1041, 1044 (9th Cir.
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2017). In deciding whether to remand for an award of benefits, the Court considers the
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following three factors: (1) did the ALJ fail to provide legally sufficient reasons for
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rejecting evidence, (2) has the record has been fully developed and would further
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proceedings serve no useful purpose, and (3) is it clear from the record that the ALJ
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would be required to find the claimant disabled were such evidence credited? Triechler
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v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 775 F.3d 1090, 1100-01 (9th Cir. 2014).
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apply this so-called “credit-as-true” rule if evaluation of the record as a whole creates
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serious doubt that the claimant is, in fact, disabled. See Garrison v. Colvin, 759 F.3d
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995, 1021 (9th Cir. 2014).
The Court need not
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The Commissioner concedes that the first element is met, but argues that further
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proceedings are needed so that the ALJ may: (1) “update the evidence of record,” (2)
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“reconsider the medical opinion evidence,” (3) “reevaluate the nature and severity of
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Plaintiff’s impairments at step two,” (4) “reconsider the reliability of Plaintiff’s
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symptoms allegations,” and (5) “reassess Plaintiff’s [Residual Functional Capacity
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(“RFC”)].” (Doc. 21 at 4-5.) These tasks do not appear to be outstanding issues, and
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instead reflect the Commissioner’s desire for a redo. But Ninth Circuit “precedent and
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the objectives of the credit-as-true rule foreclose the argument that a remand for the
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purpose of allowing the ALJ to have a mulligan qualifies as a remand for a ‘useful
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purpose.’” Garrison, 759 F.3d at 1021-22 (collecting cases).
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The Commissioner also argues that further administrative proceedings are
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appropriate because Love submitted additional evidence to the Appeals Council showing
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that he was evaluated for multiple sclerosis in November 2015, after the ALJ’s non-
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disability determination in March of that year. But the Appeals Council considered this
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evidence and concluded, evidently without substantial rationale or support, that it would
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not change the outcome of the case. Moreover, as Love points out, although his multiple
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sclerosis diagnosis post-dated the ALJ’s decision, evidence of the symptoms associated
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with the condition already was present in the record. (See AR 448-49, 452, 455.)
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Love filed his application for SSI benefits over five years ago in October 2012.
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The Commissioner admittedly erred in evaluating the medical opinion testimony, yet now
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seeks another crack at assessing Love’s SSI application. Having considered the parties’
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arguments and the cited record evidence, the Court finds that further administrative
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proceedings would not serve a useful purpose or advance the objectives of the credit-as-
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true rule. Accordingly,
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IT IS ORDERED that the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security
is REVERSED and this matter is REMANDED for an award of benefits.
Dated this 21st day of March, 2018.
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Douglas L. Rayes
United States District Judge
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