Hall v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 17

ENTRY AND ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CHIEF MAGISTRATE JUDGE 14 , OVERRULING DEFENDANT'S OBJECTIONS 16 ), VACATING THE COMMISSIONER'S FINDING OF NON-DISABILITY; REMANDING PLAINTIFF'S APPLICATIONS FOR DISABILITY I NSURANCE BENEFITS AND SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FILED ON MARCH 5, 2009 TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FOR PAYMENT OF BENEFITSCONSISTENT WITH THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT; AND TERMINATING THE INSTANT CASE. Signed by Judge Thomas M. Rose on 9-2-2016. (de)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
WESTERN DIVISION AT DAYTON
Stephen Hall,

Plaintiff,

Case No. 3:15–cv–271

v.
District Judge Thomas M. Rose
Carolyn W. Colvin,
Commissioner of Social Security,

Chief Magistrate Judge Sharon Ovington

Defendant.
___________________________________________________________________________
ENTRY
AND
ORDER
ADOPTING
REPORT
AND
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CHIEF MAGISTRATE JUDGE (DOC.
14), OVERRULING DEFENDANT=S OBJECTIONS (DOC. 16),
VACATING
THE
COMMISSIONER’S
FINDING
OF
NON-DISABILITY; REMANDING PLAINTIFF’S APPLICATIONS
FOR DISABILITY INSURANCE BENEFITS AND SUPPLEMENTAL
SECURITY INCOME FILED ON MARCH 5, 2009 TO THE SOCIAL
SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FOR PAYMENT OF BENEFITS
CONSISTENT WITH THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT; AND
TERMINATING THE INSTANT CASE.
___________________________________________________________________________

This matter comes before the Court pursuant to Objections (Doc. 16) to the Report and
Recommendations of Magistrate Judge Sharon Ovington (Doc.14) recommending that t the
Commissioner’s non-disability finding be vacated and that Plaintiff’s applications for
Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income be remanded to the Social
Security Administration for payment of benefits consistent with the Social Security Act.
Plaintiff’s first round of administrative proceedings culminated with an administrative
law judge’s determination that Plaintiff was not under a disability. (Doc. 6, PageID 44-60).

Plaintiff challenged the ALJ’s decision in this Court (3:12cv00322). In March 2014, U.S.
District Judge Walter H. Rice found that the ALJ “erred by declining to give controlling or even
deferential weight to the opinion of Plaintiff’s treating physician, Dr. Martin” and “failed to
weigh the opinions of the non-treating, record reviewing physicians by applying the proper
evaluative factors in determining how much weight to give those state-agency reviewing
physicians, Drs. Diane Manos, M.D. and Elizabeth Das, M.D.” (Doc. 7, PageID 1114). Judge
Rice therefore reversed the ALJ’s decision and remanded the case with directions to the
Commissioner to “consider, once again, the medical evidence of record and properly analyze
that evidence, both physical and psychological, of the treating physician and non-examining
state agency reviewing physicians under the controlling Social Security Regulations. Such
review shall apply the ‘good reasons rule,’ should the Hearing Officer determine that the
opinion of any examining or non-examining, reviewing physician is not entitled to controlling
weight.” Id. at 1115.
The Chief Magistrate concluded that on remand, the ALJ again placed little weight on
Dr. Martin’s opinions. The Chief Magistrate also notes the ALJ’s continued failure to consider
Plaintiff’s primary impairment—postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

Additionally,

the ALJ cherry–picked among the evidence, not relying on the opinion of Dr. Martin, Plaintiff’s
treating physician for 15 years, and likewise dismissing the opinion of Dr. Macklin, an opinion
the ALJ had requested.
All of this caused the Chief Magistrate to recommend that the Commissioner’s
non-disability finding be vacated and that Plaintiff’s applications for Disability Insurance
Benefits and Supplemental Security Income be remanded to the Social Security Administration
for payment of benefits consistent with the Social Security Act.

The Commissioner objected, (Doc. 16), asserting that the ALJ had, indeed, properly
weighed the evidence.
The Court has reviewed the findings of the Magistrate Judge and, pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
' 636(b) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b), this Court has made a de novo review of the record in this
case. Upon consideration of the foregoing, the Court finds the Objections (Doc. 16) are not
well-taken and are hereby OVERRULED.
The Court ADOPTS the Report and Recommendations (Doc. 14) in its entirety. The
Commissioner’s non-disability finding is hereby VACATED. Plaintiff’s applications for
Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income filed on March 5, 2009 is
REMANDED to the Social Security Administration for payment of benefits consistent with the
Social Security Act. The instant case is TERMINATED on the docket of the United States
District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western District at Dayton.
DONE and ORDERED this Friday, September 2, 2016.

s/THOMAS M. ROSE
__________________________________
THOMAS M. ROSE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE