Walls v. Colvin

Filing 22

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED 20 Report and Recommendation is ADOPTED in FULL; Final Judgment is entered in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant. The decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration is REMANDED for further consideration of theevidence in accordance with Magistrate Judge Carlson's Report and Recommendation. The Clerk is directed to close the case file. Signed by Honorable Matthew W. Brann on 11/13/2017. (jn)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
MICHELLE L. WALLS,
Plaintiff,
v.
NANCY A. BERRYHILL,1
Commissioner of the
Social Security Administration
Defendant.

:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:

No. 3:16-CV-02019
(Judge Brann)

(Magistrate Judge Carlson)

ORDER
NOVEMBER 13, 2017
To conserve judicial resources and prevent redundancy, the Court will not
summarize what Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson has set forth for review.
Briefly, the Court concludes that the Administrative Law Judge’s (“ALJ”) findings
are not based on substantial evidence. Magistrate Judge Carlson correctly
explained that the ALJ’s findings are inconsistent with the record with respect to
Plaintiff Michelle L. Walls’s alleged persistent depression.2

1

2

The Complaint (ECF No. 1) correctly named Carolyn W. Colvin as Defendant, as she was
the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration at the time it was filed. As of
January 23, 2017, Nancy A. Berryhill is the Acting Commissioner of Social Security.
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d), Nancy A. Berryhill shall be substituted for
Carolyn W. Colvin as Defendant in this matter.
ECF No. 20, at 7.

Specifically, Plaintiff Walls stated that she has attempted suicide on several
occasions.3 Despite this statement during the hearing, the ALJ found “no evidence
of suicide attempts, episodes of decompensation[,] or homicidal ideation during the
relevant time.”4 Such a conclusion is plainly at odds with Plaintiff Walls’s
testimony concerning her depression and its effects. The ALJ committed reversible
error by failing to explain why he rejected this material evidence.5 Absent a cogent
explanation for doing so, I find remand here necessary.
AND NOW, this 13th day of November 2017, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED
that:
1.

Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson’s October 20, 2017 Report and
Recommendation (ECF No. 20) is ADOPTED in FULL.

2.

Final judgment is entered in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant.

3.

The decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration is REMANDED for further consideration of the
evidence in accordance with Magistrate Judge Carlson’s Report and
Recommendation.

3
4
5

Id. at 8; see ECF No. 12, at 22.
ECF No. 8-2, at 18.
See Plummer v. Apfel, 186 F.3d 422, 429 (3d Cir. 1999).

-2-

4.

The Clerk is directed to close the case file.

BY THE COURT:

s/ Matthew W. Brann
Matthew W. Brann
United States District Judge

-3-