Furtado v. Colvin
Filing
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ORDER by Magistrate Judge Howard R. Lloyd granting 15 plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and denying 18 defendant's motion for summary judgment (hrllc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/30/2015)
E-Filed 9/30/15
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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KATHLEEN FURTADO,
Case No. 13-cv-04063-HRL
Plaintiff,
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v.
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CAROLYN W. COLVIN,
Defendant.
Re: Dkt. Nos. 15, 18
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY
JUDGMENT FOR PLAINTIFF AND
DENYING SUMMARY JUDGMENT
FOR DEFENDANT
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Plaintiff Kathleen Furtado appeals from the Social Security Administration’s (“SSA”)
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denial of her application for social security disability benefits under Title II of the Social Security
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Act. Ms. Furtado alleged in her application that she became unable to work on October 25, 2005,
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due to the combined effects of fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, chronic depression, obesity, and other
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illnesses. The SSA accepted an administrative law judge’s (“ALJ”) conclusion that Ms. Furtado
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retains the ability to perform her old job as well as the ability to work as a secretary or
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receptionist. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment and consented to magistrate
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jurisdiction. Ms. Furtado requests an order that awards disability benefits to her or else instructs
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the SSA on how to conduct further proceedings in her case; the SSA requests an order that affirms
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the denial of Ms. Furtado’s application. The court has carefully reviewed the record and the
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applicable law. Ms. Furtado’s motion for summary judgment is granted and SSA’s motion for
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summary judgment is denied.
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BACKGROUND
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Ms. Furtado was born on November 9, 1954. She completed high school and has some
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college education. Dkt. No. 14-3 at 76. Ms. Furtado worked as a process engineer from 1977 to
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1993: she researched, procured, and oversaw the installation of equipment used to create silicon
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wafers and thin cathode ray tubes. Dkt. No. 14-7 at 12; Dkt. No. 14-3 at 77. Ms. Furtado trained
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other engineers for two years and then held managerial positions starting in 1995. Dkt. No. 14-7
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at 12; Dkt. No. 14-3 at 79. Ms. Furtado was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in June 2005—chronic
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widespread pain along with additional, severe pain triggered when pressure is applied to her body.
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Dkt. No. 14-9 at 149; Dkt. No. 14-3 at 82-83. She was concurrently diagnosed with major
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depression, chronic osteoarthritis, and morbid obesity. Dkt. No. 14-9 at 149. Ms. Furtado recalls
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that she always had outstanding performance reviews, but that her declining health made it “very
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hard” to work by August 2005. Dkt. No. 14-3 at 81. Ms. Furtado was laid off on October 25,
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2005. Dkt. No. 14-3 at 79.
Ms. Furtado continued to see her doctors and tried to improve her health. She applied for
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bariatric surgery, but first she needed to lose more than ten percent of her body weight with diet
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Northern District of California
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and exercise. Dkt. No. 14-3 at 87-88. In September of 2006 Ms. Furtado began dialectical
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behavioral therapy—a treatment that helps patients to alter undesirable behavior—with licensed
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social worker Bertram Barth. She expressed a “particular interest in regulating her eating” during
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the first group session. Dkt. No. 14-9 at 134. And Mr. Barth noted on July 31, 2007 that Ms.
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Furtado had “joined some specific activities for weight [management.]” Dkt. No. 14-9 at 73. But
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immobility, severe pain, and depression frustrated Ms. Furtado’s diet-and-exercise efforts. She
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could not “walk very far” or for “very long.” Dkt. No. 14-3 at 88. She used to exercise in a pool
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when she had a job, but she could no longer afford pool access. Id. Ms. Furtado also struggled
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with the urge to overeat as a coping response to her depression, her daily problems, and her
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chronic pain. Id. at 93-94. Ms. Furtado was not able to lose weight and she did not receive
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bariatric surgery. Id. at 87.
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Ms. Furtado applied for disability benefits in August of 2010—she says that she applied a
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few years after her health deteriorated because she “loved working” and she had thought she
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would be able to “get better[.]” Id. at 83. The SSA denied Ms. Furtado’s initial application as
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well as her application for reconsideration of that denial. Ms. Furtado requested and received a
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hearing with an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”), but he also denied her application for
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benefits. Ms. Furtado filed more evidence about her depression and asked SSA’s Appeals Council
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to review whether the expanded record still supported the ALJ’s decision; the Appeals Council
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added the new evidence to the record, but declined to review the ALJ’s decision. Ms. Furtado
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timely filed her appeal to this court in September of 2013.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
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This court has jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a final denial of social security disability
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benefits, 42 USC § 405(g), and to overturn that denial when the decision is based on a legal error
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or is not based on substantial evidence. See Andrews v. Shalala, 53 F.3d 1035, 1039 (9th Cir.
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1995). An ALJ’s denial becomes SSA’s final decision when SSA’s Appeals Council denies a
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request to review the ALJ’s denial. See, e.g., Gillett-Netting v. Barnhart, 371 F.3d 593, 595 (9th
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Cir. 2004). Substantial evidence is “more than a mere scintilla but less than a preponderance; it is
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such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.”
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Andrews, supra.
DISCUSSION
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Reasonable regulations, when consistent with the laws that authorize them and adopted
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through proper procedures, have the force of law. Watson Land Co. v. Commissioner, 799 F.2d
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571, 579 (9th Cir. 1986). Federal courts generally defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretations
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of its own statutes and regulations. Id. But federal courts do not need to defer when the
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interpretation comes from a policy statement, agency manual, or enforcement guideline.
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Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula v. Thompson, 323 F.3d 782, 791 (9th Cir. 2003).
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Still, a non-controlling interpretation provides proper guidance to the extent that it is thorough,
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logical, persuasive, and consistent with related interpretations. Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S.
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134, 140 (1944).
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SSA’s regulations establish a five-step gauntlet that determines whether a claimant
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qualifies for disability payments.
The claimant disqualifies at step one if she engages in
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substantial gainful activity. She disqualifies at step two if no significant medical issues impair her
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ability to work.
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impairment or if other long-term impairments “equal” a sufficient impairment. Otherwise, she
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disqualifies at step four if her impairments do not prevent her from doing work she has done in the
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past. Finally, the claimant qualifies at step five if her impairments prevent her from doing other
The claimant qualifies at step three if she possesses a sufficiently severe
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work. At step five the burden of proof shifts from the claimant to the government. Celaya v.
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Halter, 332 F.3d 1177, 1180 (9th Cir. 2003). The claimant must establish her disability began
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before her date last insured—December 31, 2009 for Ms. Furtado. 20 CFR § 404.131; Dkt. No.
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14-3 at 18.
Obesity does not necessarily establish disability. However, obesity “is a risk factor that
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increases . . . chances of developing impairments in most body systems.” SSR 02-1P. The effects
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of all medical impairments—including obesity—must be considered together to determine
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whether the claimant qualifies for disability. 20 CFR § 404.1523; Celaya, 332 F.3d at 1181-82.
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Obesity “commonly leads to, and often complicates, chronic diseases of the cardiovascular,
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respiratory, and musculoskeletal body systems.” Id. Obesity increases the risk of osteoarthritis
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Northern District of California
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and it “may cause or contribute to” depression. Id.
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A district court should credit evidence on appeal if the ALJ rejected the evidence without a
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legally sufficient justification. Benecke v. Barnhart, 379 F.3d 587, 593-94 (9th Cir. 2004). The
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opinion of a physician who treats the claimant, in general, receives more weight than the opinion
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of a non-treating physician. Lester v. Chater, 81 F.3d 821, 830 (9th Cir. 1995). A treating
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physician’s opinion, when substantially contradicted by another doctor, may be rejected only if the
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ALJ provides “specific and legitimate reasons” for the rejection and those reasons are “supported
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by substantial evidence[.]” Regennitter v. Commissioner of Social Sec. Admin., 166 F.3d 1294,
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1298-99 (9th Cir. 1999). And an ALJ may not discredit the claimant’s testimony about the
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severity of her symptoms solely because the claimant carries out a limited set of occasional
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activities with difficulty. Benecke, 379 F.3d at 594. Instead, the ALJ must specifically discuss
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“why reported daily activity limitations . . . are not reasonably consistent with the . . . other
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evidence.” See SSR 95-5P. A district court should remand for an immediate award of benefits if:
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(1) the ALJ failed to justify the rejection of some evidence, (2) no outstanding issues must be
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resolved before a determination of disability can be made, and (3) it is clear from the record that
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the ALJ would be required to find the claimant disabled if the rejected evidence were credited.
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Benecke, 389 F.3d at 593.
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Ms. Furtado argues that the SSA and the ALJ committed four errors: (1) the SSA failed to
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discuss the supplemental evidence added to the record after the ALJ issued his denial; (2) the ALJ
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failed to analyze the impairment caused by Ms. Furtado’s obesity; (3) the ALJ failed to ask
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whether, hypothetically, the symptoms described by Ms. Furtado would prevent someone from
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working; and (4) the ALJ discredited Ms. Furtado’s testimony without a valid justification. The
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SSA responds that: (1) no obligation to consider supplemental evidence exists; (2) the ALJ’s
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decision is supported by substantial evidence; (3) the ALJ had no burden to ask any hypothetical
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questions because Ms. Furtado lost at step four, before the burden of proof could shift to the ALJ;
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and (4) substantial evidence supported the ALJ’s decision to discredit Ms. Furtado’s testimony.
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But analysis of these dueling arguments reveals that the court faces one overarching question: does
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the expanded record—with credit given to any improperly discredited evidence—show that the
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Northern District of California
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ALJ made a decision free of legal error and supported by substantial evidence?
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The SSA’s Appeals Council has no obligation to consider supplemental evidence. Taylor
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v. Comm’r, 659 F.3d 1228, 1231 (9th Cir. 2011). This court lacks jurisdiction to review whether
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the Appeals Council should have granted a request for a review of an ALJ’s decision. Id. The
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court should not, as Ms. Furtado asks, automatically credit the supplemental evidence the Appeals
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Council declined to review. Instead, the court should analyze the expanded record to determine
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whether the ALJ’s decision—which the SSA adopted as its own final decision—is free of legal
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error and supported by substantial evidence. Id. at 1232.
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The ALJ did not fail to consider the cumulative effect of obesity on Ms. Furtado’s total
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level of impairment. In fact, the ALJ explicitly considered the effects of obesity on Ms. Furtado’s
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“functional limitations”; he simply found that those limitations were, altogether, not severe. Dkt.
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No. 14-3 at 18-22. But this leaves open the overarching question of whether the ALJ’s denial of
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benefits was free of legal error and supported by substantial evidence.
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The ALJ, generally, has no evidentiary burden to carry unless the claimant carries her
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burden at the fourth step of the ALJ’s five-step analysis. Celaya, 332 F.3d at 1180. But here the
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ALJ disqualified Ms. Furtado at the fourth step and then attempted—“[i]n the alternative”— to
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also carry his own burden at the fifth step. Dkt. No. 14-3 at 23. Even still, the ALJ does not have
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a particular duty to ask particular hypothetical questions. Rather, the ALJ is prohibited from
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basing a final decision solely on hypothetical answers that are not independently supported by
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substantial evidence. Gallant v. Heckler, 753 F.2d 1450, 1456 (9th Cir. 1984) (reversing an ALJ’s
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final decision for lack of “substantial evidence” when hypothetical questions and answers
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provided the only support for the decision). Each alleged error, then, leads back to the same key
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question: does the expanded record provide substantial evidence to support the denial of benefits
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after any improperly rejected evidence is credited as true?
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The ALJ discredited Ms. Furtado’s testimony about the “intensity, persistence and limiting
effects of [her]” symptoms as inconsistent with the following activities:
[S]he was laid off her last job; she drives; and she grocery shops. She
reported in a function report that she prepares her own meals; she does
laundry; she cleans the toilet; she goes out alone; she can handle her finances;
she plays Bingo; she watches television; she does puzzles; she crochets; and
she plays cards; she goes out to breakfast; and she watches her three
grandchildren play soccer . . . [She] reported to [her doctor] she is unable to
exercise to lose weight, however she can do all household chores, cooking,
vacuuming, hopping [sic], cleaning; she could climb 14 stairs in her son’s
house, though she needs to hold the railing . . . She reported she was
independent in her personal care to her physical therapist on September 3,
2010[.]
Dkt. No. 14-3 at 21.
The ALJ failed to justify the rejection of Ms. Furtado’s testimony with particular
explanations of “why reported daily activity limitations . . . are not reasonably consistent with the .
. . other evidence.” SSR 95-5P; Vertigan v. Halter, 260 F.3d 1044, 1049 (9th Cir. 2001). The
justification for a credibility finding must be “sufficiently specific” to show on appeal that the
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rejection was not arbitrary. Thomas v. Barnhart, 278 F.3d 947, 958-59 (9th Cir. 2002). An ALJ
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must therefore provide “specific, clear and convincing reasons” to reject subjective testimony
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about symptoms if sufficient medical evidence establishes the existence of impairments that
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reasonably might cause those symptoms and there is no affirmative evidence the claimant is
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malingering.
Smolen v. Chater, 80 F.3d 1273, 1281-82 (9th Cir. 1996).
The record lacks
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affirmative evidence of malingering and the ALJ found that Ms. Furtado’s medical impairments
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could reasonably be expected to cause the symptoms described in her testimony, but then he failed
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to provide specific, clear, convincing reasons when he rejected her testimony. The court therefore
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credits Ms. Furtado’s testimony. See Benecke, 379 F.3d at 593-94.
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Although an ALJ may use a claimant’s admission of a high daily activity level to discredit
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inconsistent testimony about symptoms, he may not use the admission of a low activity level to
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discredit the testimony that explains why the activity level is low. Benecke, 379 F.3d at 594; see
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also Vertigan, 260 F.3d at 1049-50. The ALJ, at most, appears to imply Ms. Furtado’s admission
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of a low activity level somehow impeaches her related explanation of how her symptoms keep her
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activity level low. But the ALJ did not clearly adopt this reasoning and, regardless, it would not
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be permissible.
The ALJ also provided no specific and valid justification when he discredited the opinion
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of Dr. Banerjee, Ms. Furtado’s long-term treating physician. Dr. Banerjee concluded, based on
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treating Ms. Furtado from 2006 to 2011, that she suffers from “[m]orbid obesity, . . . ,
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Northern District of California
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[d]epression, chronic osteoarthritis, [and] fibromyalgia” and that she “may decline over time”
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unless she loses significant weight. Dkt. No. 14-10 at 83-84. Dr. Banerjee stated that Ms. Furtado
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is constantly in severe pain and that, even with the aid of a walker, Ms. Furtado must stop walking
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and take rests “due to pain and shortness” of breath. Id. at 85. He also stated that Ms. Furtado can
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sit still for only 5 to 15 minutes at a time, that she can stand still for only a few minutes, and that
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she “needs to lean on something” during those few minutes. Id. The ALJ rejected Dr. Banerjee’s
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opinions about the severity of Ms. Furtado’s symptoms because Dr. Banerjee’s opinions are
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“inconsistent with the objective findings already discussed above . . . [and] . . . inconsistent with
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the record as a whole.” Dkt. No. 14-3 at 22. An ALJ may not discredit the treating physician’s
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opinions based on an unsupportable disbelief in the claimant’s corroborating testimony. Benecke,
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379 F.3d at 594; see 20 CFR § 404.1527(c)(2). The ALJ’s “objective findings already discussed
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above”—his residual functional capacity findings—depended on an unsupportable subjective
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disbelief in Ms. Furtado’s corroborating testimony. Supra at 6-7. The ALJ was wrong to discredit
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Ms. Furtado’s testimony in the first place and wrong again to discredit Dr. Banerjee on the basis of
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the first mistake. The ALJ also discredited Dr. Banerjee’s opinion because he “did not provide
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objective [medical evidence] to support [his] functional assessment[.]” Dkt. No. 14-3 at 22. But
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this was another error—an ALJ may not require “objective” evidence before he will credit a
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treating physician’s opinion about the disabling effects that could reasonably be expected to result
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from severe fibromyalgia. Benecke, 379 F.3d at 594.
The ALJ committed yet another error when he credited several non-treating, non-
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examining physicians with more weight than Dr. Banerjee’s opinion. Generally, the opinions of
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treating physicians receive more weight than the opinions of examining physicians, and the
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opinions of non-examining physicians receive less weight than examining physicians. 20 CFR §
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404.1527(d); Orn v. Astrue, 495 F.3d 625, 631 (9th Cir. 2007).
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physicians receive controlling weight when those opinions are well supported and consistent with
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the record. Orn, 495 F.3d at 632. A treating physician’s opinion is not entitled to controlling
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weight if an examining physician’s opinion provides “substantial evidence” that contradicts the
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treating physician’s diagnoses or factual findings, but even then the treating physician’s opinion is
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“entitled to deference” over contrary opinions unless the ALJ provides “specific and legitimate
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reasons” to overcome that deference. 20 CFR § 404.1527(d)(2); SSR 96-2P; Orn, 495 F.3d at
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632-33. The record does not contain an opinion from an examining physician that contradicts Dr.
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Banerjee’s diagnoses or factual findings, and the ALJ also failed to provide specific and legitimate
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reasons to justify his lack of deference for the opinion Dr. Banerjee developed over the course of
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several years as a treating physician. The state’s non-examining physicians surveyed a relatively
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small number of documents consistent with Dr. Banerjee’s opinion and then concluded Ms.
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Furtado had insufficient evidence of disability, Dkt. No. 14-10 at 79-82, 88-89; their opinions do
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not rise to the level of substantial contradictory evidence provided by examining physicians, and
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the ALJ was wrong to credit their opinions above Dr. Banerjee’s opinion.
The opinions of treating
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The ALJ rejected both Ms. Furtado’s testimony and Dr. Banerjee’s opinion in order to find
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that Ms. Furtado is an active woman, perhaps capable of physical exercise, who takes care of
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herself and who might re-enter the work force if she so chooses. Dkt. No. 14-3 at 21. But Ms.
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Furtado tells a very different story.
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Ms. Furtado, at 5’4” and about 390 pounds, has always been a heavy woman. Dkt. No. 14-
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3 at 78. She likes to work and she worked for nearly 30 years, but she was diagnosed with severe
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health problems several months before she was laid off. Dkt. No. 14-3 at 95; Dkt. No. 14-9 at
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149. She sought medical help for several years, but she was unable to overcome her impairments.
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Ms. Furtado walks slowly, with severe pain and the assistance of a cane or walker, and she must
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take a break after she moves about 50 feet. Dkt. No. 14-7 at 20; Dkt. No. 14-10 at 84. She often
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requires the assistance of others in order to make it to the restroom on time. Dkt. No. 14-7 at 21,
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23. She occasionally drives, but only for a short while and with frequent breaks. Dkt. No. 14-3 at
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91-92. She “hardly” shops, but occasionally she shops for 30 to 60 minutes with the assistance of
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her husband or her son as well as either a cane or a motorized scooter. Dkt. No. 14-7 at 23-24, 27.
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She is able to cook three simple meals per week, but she is unable to cook the majority of her own
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daily meals. Dkt. No. 14-7 at 24. She receives daily assistance with laundry, cooking and
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cleaning, and she receives assistance when she goes on errands. Dkt. No. 14-7 at 23. She helps
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with laundry, but she requires someone else to actually carry the laundry. Dkt. No. 14-7 at 24.
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Northern District of California
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She watches TV daily, but she sits in a recliner with her legs elevated to reduce swelling and pain
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in her knees. Dkt. No. 14-7 at 20, 26. She likes to watch her grandchildrens’ soccer games about
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once per week, but sometimes she is unable to attend. Dkt. No. 14-7 at 26-27. She enjoys
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occasionally playing bingo, but often she is unable to attend or she must leave early. Dkt. No. 14-
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9 at 84, 87, 89, 129; Dkt. No. 14-7 at 26. She is unable to sit at a computer without experiencing
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severe pain. Dkt. No. 14-3 at 89; Dkt. No. 14-10 at 84-85. Likewise, she experienced severe pain
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when she sat and testified to the ALJ. Dkt. No. 14-3 at 89.
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This rejected evidence, when properly credited, required the ALJ to award disability
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benefits to Ms. Furtado at the fifth step of his analysis. The ALJ’s conclusion that Ms. Furtado
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has the functional capacity to return to her past job cannot be justified by substantial evidence on
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this record. The ALJ’s alternative conclusion that Ms. Furtado has the functional capacity to
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perform any other job also cannot be justified by substantial evidence on this record. As the ALJ
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noted, the functional limitations asserted by Dr. Banerjee “preclude the claimant from working at
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the level of substantial gainful activity.” Dkt. No. 14-3 at 22. The ALJ was therefore required to
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award Ms. Furtado disability benefits.
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CONCLUSION
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Ms. Furtado was disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act’s Title II prior to
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her date last insured: December 31, 2009. The ALJ committed a series of legal errors when he
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reached a contrary conclusion, and a contrary conclusion is not supported by substantial evidence.
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The court, through a subsequent judgment, shall remand the case for an immediate award of
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disability benefits consistent with this order.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: 9/30/15
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________________________
HOWARD R. LLOYD
United States Magistrate Judge
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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