Barrow v. Colvin
Filing
22
ORDER adopting Report and Recommendations re 20 Findings and Recommendations on Case. After review, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs objections should be OVERRULED and the magistrate judges findings should be, and are hereby, ADOPTED as the findings and conclusions of this Court for the reasons stated there. Accordingly, the commissioners decision is AFFIRMED. (Ordered by Judge Terry R Means on 8/5/2015) (mem)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
FORT WORTH DIVISION
KAREN BARROW
V.
CAROLYN W. COLVIN, ACTING
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY
§
§
§ CIVIL ACTION NO. 4:14-CV-170-Y
§
§
§
ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATION
On June 8, 2015, the United States magistrate judge issued his
findings, conclusions, and recommendation (“the findings”) in this
case. In the findings, the magistrate judge recommended that the Court
affirm the decision of the commissioner of the Social Security
Administration denying Plaintiff’s claims for disability insurance
benefits under Title II and for supplemental social security income
under Title XVI of the Social Security Act. An order issued that same
day gave all parties fourteen days to serve and file with the Court
written
objections
to
the
findings.
Plaintiff
has
filed
her
objections. The commissioner did not file a response.
Plaintiff argues that under Singletary v. Bowen, 798 F.2d 818
(5th Cir. 1986), the administrative law judge (“ALJ”), was required
to make a specific finding regarding Plaintiff’s ability to sustain
employment, not just obtain employment, and Plaintiff takes issue with
the magistrate judge’s finding that the ALJ properly assessed whether
Plaintiff could sustain employment. This Court, in reviewing the issue
de novo, concludes that the magistrate judge correctly found that the
ALJ adequately considered Plaintiff’s ability to sustain employment
given the episodic nature of her claimed disability.
Plaintiff also complains that the magistrate judge’s proposed
findings are inconsistent with a report issued in a case involving
similar facts, Decker v. Colvin, No. 7:12-CV-158-BL, 2014 WL 4494145
(N.D. Tex. Sept. 11, 2014) (Frost, J.). In that case, the magistrate
judge
recommended
that
the
commissioner’s
denial
of
disability
benefits be vacated and remanded based on the ALJ’s failure to make
a finding regarding the claimant’s ability to sustain employment. See
Id. at *4. Aside from the fact that, in this case, the ALJ expressly
made such as finding, the facts in Decker are not similar to those
present in this case, despite Plaintiff’s claim to the contrary.
The claimant in Decker, like Plaintiff here, suffered from bipolar disorder. Unlike Plaintiff, though, there was substantial
evidence in Decker that the claimant could not hold a job. The
magistrate judge noted that the claimant had held thirty-nine jobs in
just fifteen years, just under three jobs per year. Id. at *5.
Additionally, the record indicated that the claimant suffered from
various mental disorders, aside from bi-polar disorder and that her
examining psychologist listed claimant’s prognosis as “poor to fair.”
Id. Finally, in Decker, there was no opinion of record indicating that
the claimant had the ability to maintain employment.
See Id. These
facts and circumstances simply are not present in Plaintiff’s case,
so any comparison to Decker would be improper.
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After review, the Court concludes that Plaintiff’s objections
should be OVERRULED and the magistrate judge’s findings should be, and
are hereby, ADOPTED as the findings and conclusions of this Court for
the reasons stated there. Accordingly, the commissioner’s decision is
AFFIRMED.
SIGNED August 5, 2015.
____________________________
TERRY R. MEANS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
TRM/lj
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