Hogan v. Social Security Administration

Filing 19

ORDER affirming the decision of the Commissioner and dismissing this case with prejudice. Signed by Magistrate Judge Beth Deere on 7/1/2015. (jak)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
JONESBORO DIVISION
TRACY HOGAN
V.

PLAINTIFF
NO. 3:14CV156-BD

CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Acting Commissioner,
Social Security Administration

DEFENDANT

ORDER
Oral argument hearing was held on June 11, 2015. Following a review of the
record and arguments presented by counsel, the Court announced its findings of fact and
conclusions of law, affirming the Commissioner’s decision. Based on the record as a
whole, there was sufficient evidence to support the decision that Ms. Hogan was not
disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act as of the time of the hearing
before the Administrative Law Judge. An excerpted transcript with detailed findings and
conclusions is attached.
Accordingly, the decision of the Commissioner is affirmed, and the case is hereby
dismissed, with prejudice.
So ordered, this 1st day of July, 2015.

___________________________________
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 3:14-cv-00156-BD Document 18 Filed 06/25/15 Page 1 of 10

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
JONESBORO DIVISION

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TRACY HOGAN,

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PLAINTIFF,
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VS.
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION .
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COMMISSIONER,
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DEFENDANT.
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Docket No. 3:14-CV-00156-BD
Little Rock, Arkansas
June 11, 2015
9:59 A.M.

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TRANSCRIPT OF

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EXCERPTED ORAL FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

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IN ORAL ARGUMENT HEARING

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BEFORE THE HONORABLE BETH DEERE

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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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ELECTRONIC COURT RECORDER-OPERATOR:

Ms. Suzy Flippen

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Transcription Service:

Robin Warbritton
Post Office Box 262
Vilonia, AR 72173
[phone]

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PROCEEDINGS RECORDED BY ELECTRONIC SOUND RECORDING.

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TRANSCRIPT PRODUCED BY TRANSCRIPTION SERVICE.

Case 3:14-cv-00156-BD Document 18 Filed 06/25/15 Page 2 of 10

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APPEARANCES:

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For the Plaintiff:

Mr. Greg Wallace
C/O Bartels Law Firm
Post Office Box 1640
Jonesboro, AR 72403-1640

For the Defendant:

Ms. Angeline S. Reese
Social Security Administration
Office of the General Counsel
1301 Young Street
Suite A702
Dallas, TX 75202-5433

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Case 3:14-cv-00156-BD Document 18 Filed 06/25/15 Page 3 of 10

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P R O C E E D I N G S

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(Call to order of the Court.)

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* * *

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THE COURT:

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All right.

Then I'm ready to rule in

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this case unless there is something I have -- anybody wants to

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add.
So, these are my findings and conclusions.

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jurisdiction is proper.

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procedural prerequisites have been satisfied.

First,

There is no dispute, all the
The parties

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have consented to my jurisdiction, so it's appropriate for me

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to rule.

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I have reviewed the parties' briefs, the ALJ's

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decision, all of those portions of the record the parties have

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cited, in addition to other parts of the record that I've

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reviewed, including the entire transcript of the hearing

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before the ALJ.

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Standard of review is well settled; is there

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sufficient evidence, considering the record as a whole, to

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support the Commissioner's decision, and second, is there any

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legal error?

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Ms. Hogan is appealing the Commissioner's finding

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that she was not disabled.

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denied her request for review, the ALJ's April 15, 2013

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decision is deemed the Commissioner's final decision.

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And because the Appeal's Counsel

She applied for disability benefits on October 14,

Case 3:14-cv-00156-BD Document 18 Filed 06/25/15 Page 4 of 10

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2011; first, alleging an onset date of January 1, 2001 -- 2007

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-- excuse me -- but later amending the onset date to October

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14, 2011.

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The ALJ followed the five-step analysis that ALJ's

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use in every case.

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impairments; carpel tunnel syndrome of the upper left

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extremity, joint pain, lumbago, tremors, depression, anxiety

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disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and polysubstance

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abuse in remission.

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He did find that Ms. Hogan had severe

Based on these impairments, as well as non-severe

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impairments, the ALJ found that Ms. Hogan could perform a

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reduced range of light work.

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impairments, the ALJ limited her to jobs that would require no

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more than frequent reaching and handling with her left non-

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dominant hand and wrist.

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to climb ladders or scaffolds and could not be exposed to

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unrestricted heights.

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To accommodate her physical

In addition, she would not be able

To accommodate her mental impairments, the ALJ

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limited Ms. Hogan to performing simple unskilled or rote

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activities and to understanding, following, and remembering

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concrete instructions.

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requiring only limited contact with the public, superficial

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contact with coworkers and supervisors.

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He further limited her to jobs

Ms. Hogan had no past relevant work, but a Vocational
Expert identified jobs that are available in sufficient

Case 3:14-cv-00156-BD Document 18 Filed 06/25/15 Page 5 of 10

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numbers that a person with Ms. Hogan's limitations could

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perform.
Ms. Hogan raises several points on appeal.

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She

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challenges the ALJ's Residual Functional Capacity

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determination.

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primarily on her mental impairments.

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going to say there's not a serious argument that the ALJ erred

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with respect to her physical limitations.

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some of those in her argument today, they're not seriously

Her appeal focused primarily -- focuses
And there's not a -- I'm

Although she raises

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challenged in her brief.

And I'm -- to me, it's clear that

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the limitations set out by the ALJ adequately accommodate her

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physical limitations; that is, her carpel tunnel syndrome and

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her tremors, as well as her joint pain, lumbago.

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she's limited to a reduced range of light work according to

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the ALJ.

She's --

So, turning to her mental impairments, she makes

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three general arguments.

First, that the ALJ did not

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adequately consider all of the medical opinions of the

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consulting psychologist, Mary Ellen Zeoco, who is a Ph.D.

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psychologist.

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2011.

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considered, according to Ms. Hogan, are her opinions that Ms.

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Hogan, and I'm quoting here:

Dr. Zeoco examined Ms. Hogan on December 20th,

That part of her opinion that the ALJ should have

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"Might sometimes have some

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difficulty sustaining

Case 3:14-cv-00156-BD Document 18 Filed 06/25/15 Page 6 of 10

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concentration on basic tasks due

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to emotional distress."
End quote.

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That she, quote:

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"Might have some difficulty

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sustaining persistence in

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completing tasks due to emotional

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distress."
End quote.

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And also that she, quote:

"Might have some difficulty

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completing work-like tasks within

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an acceptable time frame."

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End quote.

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Again, Ms. Hogan argues that the ALJ should have

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given more weight to not only these opinions, but also to the

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Global Assessment Functioning score, or sometimes we shorthand

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that to GAF, the GAF Score of 45, which is -- is extremely

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low.

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Her second general argument is that the ALJ's

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credibility determination was flawed.

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she cites her long history of treatment and prescription

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medications.

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the state agency doctor, who did not examine Ms. Hogan, and

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that would be Dr. Kevin Santulli, who is also a Ph.D.

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psychologist.

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And in support of that,

She argues that the ALJ put too much reliance on

And her third general argument is that the ALJ should

Case 3:14-cv-00156-BD Document 18 Filed 06/25/15 Page 7 of 10

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have more fully developed the record if he found that Dr.

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Zeoco's report was vague and ambiguous.
I do find that substantial evidence supports the

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ALJ's decision.

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Zeoco's opinions were based heavily on Ms. Hogan's subjective

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complaints is accurate.

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the history that Ms. Hogan herself gives.

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out that Dr. Zeoco's opinion was reviewed by another

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psychologist, as I've said, Dr. Kevin Santulli.

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His -- first of all, his observation that Dr.

A large part of her report repeats
And I would point

So he had the

benefit of Dr. Zeoco's report when he fashioned his opinion.
I do think it's important to note that Dr. Zeoco also

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noted that Ms. Hogan's activities of daily living, that

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included she drives, she has a driver's license, she completes

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activities of daily living without assistance, except that her

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15 year old apparently helps her put on makeup because of her

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tremors.

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communicates in an effective and intelligible manner.

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able to cope with the typical cognitive demands of basic work-

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like activities, manages her own funds.

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is logical, relevant, goal orient -- goal directed.

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with her mother and three of her five children, since

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separating from what sounds like her no-account husband.

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She communicates in a socially adequate manner,
She's

Her thought process
She lives

So, I think that there was no necessity for the ALJ

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to ask Dr. Zeoco to clarify her opinion.

The opinion about

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possible problems were so speculative, including words like

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"They might sometimes; she might sometimes have some

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difficulty."

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that she would have those problems.

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That's really not enough to support a finding

Ms. Hogan herself testified at the hearing about her

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activities of daily living and testified that she helps get

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her children ready for school, she does laundry, picks up

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around the house, cooks some, helps her children with their

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homework, and puts them to bed after they have bathed and

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gotten ready for bed.

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The ALJ was not required to adopt every part of the

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opinion of this consulting doctor, psychologist, who saw her

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only once.

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controlling weight to that one GAF score of 45.

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DSM, which is DSM-5, has eliminate -- has eliminated the use

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of GAF scores, in part, because of their, quote:

And he certainly was not required to give

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"Conceptual lack of clarity and

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questionable psychometrics and

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The current

routine practice."

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Moreover, the Social Security regs make it clear that
GAF scores are not dispositive.
The ALJ also properly took into account

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inconsistencies in Ms. Hogan's testimony.

You know, in spite

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of her testimony about these disabling tremors, the ALJ

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observed no tremors at the time of the hearing.

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time of the hearing, she had not been to see her primary care

And at the

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doctor for approximately five months.

And there's no record

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of her ever seeking treatment for her mental health problems

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except her visits to her primary care physician.
Other inconsistencies are in the record.

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She refers

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to lupus causing memory problems, but there's no diagnosis of

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lupus that I found anywhere in the record.
The ALJ also properly noted her poor work history,

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although I don't put a lot of -- a lot of weight on that, she

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is 32 years old and had five children, she didn't have much

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opportunity to find work.

So, I'm not particularly dwelling

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on that, although that is something that ALJs can properly

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consider.

And again, her lack of mental health treatment.
So, because of all of this, I think that the ALJ

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adequately accommodated all of her mental impairments that are

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fairly supported by the record.
So, I find no legal error.

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And for the reasons we've

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just discussed, I find there's substantial evidence to support

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the decision here that Ms. Hogan was not disabled within the

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meaning of the Social Security Act as of the time of the

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hearing.

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side, I don't find that this is really a very close case.

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There is ample evidence here to support the decision.

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Although there is certainly evidence on the other

So, we will have a transcript of the findings and

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conclusions prepared.

And that will be attached to an order.

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That will take a couple of weeks or so.

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I do want to thank the lawyers.

Professor Wallace

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always makes an excellent argument and makes the most out of

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the record.

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to -- that he could work with in this case.

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Ms. Reese from the Social Security Administration.

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very good job, as well.

There just was not much of a record in this case

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So, if there's nothing further.

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MR. WALLACE:

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MS. REESE:

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Also, thanks to
You did a

We are adjourned.

Thank you, Your Honor.
Thank you, Judge.

(Adjournment at 10:36 a.m.)

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ELECTRONIC SOUND RECORDING CERTIFICATION:

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I, court approved transcriber, certify that the foregoing is a

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correct transcript from the official electronic sound

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recording of the proceedings in the above-entitled matter.

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/s/Robin Warbritton
Signature of Approved Transcriber

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Robin Warbritton
Typed or Printed Name

June 25, 2015
Date