McWoodson v. Colvin

Filing 23

Order by Hon. Vince Chhabria granting in part and denying in part 15 Motion for Summary Judgment and Remanding the Case.(knm, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 7/16/2015)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ANTONIO MCWOODSON,

Case No. 14-cv-04170-VC

Plaintiff,
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v.
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CAROLYN W. COLVIN,
Defendant.

ORDER GRANTING IN PART
PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Re: Dkt. No. 15

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Antonio McWoodson seeks review of the Social Security Commissioner's denial of

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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benefits. Among other things, McWoodson contends the Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") erred

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in rejecting the opinion of one of McWoodson's treating physicians, Dr. Rachel Shorr, without

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providing specific and legitimate reasons for doing so.

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In his written decision, the ALJ noted that Dr. Shorr (described in the ALJ's decision as "a

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physician at [Lifelong] West Berkeley") had treated McWoodson for neck, back, shoulder, and

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knee pain in February 2012, and that Dr. Shorr had opined that McWoodson "was incapable of

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low stress jobs and that his pain or other symptoms were severe enough to interfere with his

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attention and concentration frequently." AR 26. The ALJ further noted that, in Dr. Shorr's

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opinion, McWoodson could "sit for five hours, stand for three hours, and walk for one hour in an

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eight hour workday," but that he "would miss more than four days of work per month due to his

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impairment." Id.

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The ALJ did not expressly reject Dr. Shorr's opinion. In fact, the ALJ did not make any

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comments, positive or negative, about Dr. Shorr's opinion. But the ALJ's determination about

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McWoodson's residual functional capacity did not include the restrictions Dr. Shorr described. In

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determining McWoodson's residual functional capacity, the ALJ found that McWoodson could

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"stand/walk for four hours . . . [and] sit for six hours of an eight hour workday." AR 24. By

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disregarding Dr. Shorr's opinion and making contrary findings, the ALJ effectively rejected that

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opinion.

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At the hearing on the motions for summary judgment, the Commissioner argued that the

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ALJ's opinion is sufficient under Magallanes v. Bowen, 881 F.2d 747 (9th Cir. 1989), because the

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ALJ gave specific and legitimate reasons for rejecting the opinions of McWoodson's other doctors

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and it can be inferred from the ALJ's opinion that the same reasoning applies to Dr. Shorr's

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opinion. But even if the ALJ did provide specific and legitimate reasons for rejecting the opinions

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of McWoodson's other doctors, the ALJ's failure to provide any explanation for rejecting Dr.

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Shorr's opinion requires that this case be remanded for a redetermination of McWoodson's

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eligibility for benefits.

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It's true that in Magallanes the Ninth Circuit explained that an ALJ need not recite specific
"magic words" in rendering a decision, and a reviewing court is entitled to draw inferences from

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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that decision. Id. at 755. There, the Ninth Circuit concluded that "there was substantial evidence

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supporting the ALJ's decision rejecting Dr. Fox's opinion as to the onset date of Magallanes's

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disability," despite the fact that the ALJ's opinion did not literally say, "I reject Dr. Fox's opinion

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about the onset date because . . . ." Id. But the Ninth Circuit noted that the ALJ had addressed in

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detail the reasons for rejecting another doctor's opinion about the disability onset date, and had

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provided specific and legitimate reasons for crediting other physicians' opinions based on the very

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same clinical findings that formed the basis for Dr. Fox's opinion. Id. In other words, while the

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ALJ might not have expressly addressed Dr. Fox's opinion about the disability onset date, it was

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clear from the ALJ's opinion that the ALJ had considered the conflicting clinical evidence and the

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other doctors' analysis of that evidence. And because the ALJ had provided a detailed explanation

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of his reasons for accepting one interpretation of that evidence and rejecting another, those reasons

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necessarily applied to Dr. Fox's opinion.

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Magallanes does not stand for the broader proposition asserted by the Commissioner, that

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the ALJ need not provide specific and legitimate reasons for rejecting every treating doctor's

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opinion so long as the ALJ provides such reasons for rejecting some other doctor's opinion.

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Following Magallanes, the Ninth Circuit has continued to emphasize that ALJs must provide

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specific and legitimate reasons for rejecting the opinion of any treating physician. See, e.g., Orn v.

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Astrue, 495 F.3d 625, 631–35 (9th Cir. 2007). What's more, the Ninth Circuit has rejected
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arguments like the one the Commissioner raises here, albeit in unpublished memorandum

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dispositions. See, e.g., Monteiro v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 130 F. App'x 93, 94 (9th Cir.

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2005); Cochrane v. Barnhart, 78 F. App'x 561, 562 & n.2 (9th Cir. 2003) ("[A]n ALJ need not

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recite 'here are my specific, legitimate reasons' in those terms, but an informed medical view

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cannot be rejected by mere implication. Reasons must be given.").

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This case is not like Magallanes. The ALJ did provide reasons for rejecting the opinion of

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another physician, Dr. Rose Lewis – rejecting that opinion on the grounds that it "was too

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restrictive given the physical findings and appeared to be based mostly on subjective complaints."

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AR 27. But even if this was a specific and legitimate reason for rejecting Dr. Lewis's opinion (a
question that the Court does not reach), that opinion was based on a single examination in July

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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2011, AR 418, whereas Dr. Shorr's medical source statement was based on her own clinical

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observations after treating McWoodson for almost an entire year. AR 385, 454–55. Therefore,

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the Court cannot infer from ALJ's explanation for rejecting Dr. Lewis's opinion that the ALJ

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rejected Dr. Shorr's opinion for the same reasons.

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The ALJ's failure to offer reasons for rejecting Dr. Shorr's opinion was legal error. See

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Smolen v. Chater, 80 F.3d 1273, 1286 (9th Cir. 1996). Accordingly, the Court remands this case

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to the agency for redetermination of McWoodson's eligibility for benefits.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: July 16, 2015
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VINCE CHHABRIA
United States District Judge

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