The opinion
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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11 THOMAS L.,1 Case No. 8:20-cv-01880-GJS
12 Plaintiff
13 v. MEMORANDUM OPINION AND
ORDER
14 ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner
of Social Security,2
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Defendant.
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18 I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY
19 Plaintiff Thomas L. (“Plaintiff”), proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis,
20 filed a complaint seeking review of the decision of the Commissioner of Social
21 Security denying his application for Disability Insurance Benefits (“DIB”). [Dkts.
22 1, 4.] The parties filed consents to proceed before the undersigned United States
23 Magistrate Judge [Dkts. 7 and 9]. On February 1, 2021, Plaintiff filed a motion
24 requesting the Court reverse the final decision of the Commissioner and remand this
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26 1 In the interest of privacy, this Order uses only the first name and the initial of
the last name of the non-governmental party.
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2 Andrew M. Saul, now Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, is
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substituted as defendant for Nancy A. Berryhill. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d).
1 case for the payment of benefits. [Dkt. 13.] Upon reviewing Plaintiff’s motion, the
2 Commissioner offered to voluntarily remand the case pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §
3 405(g). [Dkt. 18.] Plaintiff, however, rejected Defendant’s stipulated proposal. On
4 March 30, 2021, in lieu of an opposition to Plaintiff’s motion, Defendant filed a
5 motion requesting the Court remand this action for further proceedings. [Dkt. 18.]
6 On April 12, 2021, Plaintiff filed an opposition to the motion to remand requesting
7 the Court grant summary judgment in his favor, reverse the decision of the
8 Commissioner, and remand with instructions to award benefits. [Dkt. 20.] The
9 matter is now ready for decision. Having reviewed the parties’ positions, the
10 Administrative Record (“AR”), and relevant legal authority, the Court REVERSES
11 the Commissioner’s decision and REMANDS this case for further administrative
12 proceedings.
13 II. ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION UNDER REVIEW
14 Plaintiff was born in 1981. [Administrative Record (“AR”) 182-188.]
15 Plaintiff primarily suffers from pain due to injuries sustained from a motorcycle
16 accident in 2012 that injured his hand and heightened his depression. Prior to his
17 injury, Plaintiff worked as a “help desk specialist.” [AR 46.]
18 In 2013, the agency found Plaintiff disabled as of May 7, 2012. [AR 193.]
19 On June 20, 2014, it was determined that Plaintiff had experienced medical
20 improvement, he was no longer disabled, and that Plaintiff’s benefits would
21 terminate as of June 1, 2014. [AR 198-201.] Plaintiff requested reconsideration
22 before a Disability Hearing Officer (“DHO”). [AR 145-158.] The DHO held a
23 hearing and issued a decision upholding the determination of Plaintiff’s medical
24 improvement relating to his ability to work and finding him “not disabled.” [AR
25 209-226.] Plaintiff appealed the DHO’s decision and requested a hearing before an
26 Administrative Law Judge. [AR 164.]
27 On January 8, 2020, a hearing was held before Administrative Law Judge
28 Stacy Zimmerman. [AR 40-130.] During the hearing, at which Plaintiff appeared
1 without the assistance of an attorney, the ALJ heard testimony from Plaintiff and a
2 vocational expert. [AR 40-130.] In a decision dated March 11, 2020, the ALJ made
3 the following findings: at the time of the most recent favorable comparison point
4 decision (“CPD”), Plaintiff had medically determinable impairments including:
5 fractures of the right scapula and third, fourth, and fifth metacarpals of the right
6 hand, status post open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) surgeries, secondary to a
7 June 2012 motorcycle accident; and history of neck and back injuries secondary to a
8 February 2012 accident. [AR 16.] These impairments were found to result in the
9 residual functional capacity (“RFC”) to lift and carry 20 pounds occasionally and 10
10 pounds frequently; stand and walk for 1 hour in an 8-hour workday; sit for 6 hours
11 in an 8-hour workday, with frequent breaks; occasionally use the right upper
12 extremity for pushing, pulling, reaching, handling, fingering, and feeling;
13 occasionally stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, and climb ramps and stairs; never balance
14 or climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds; and avoid concentrated exposure to extreme
15 cold, vibration, and hazards.
16 Since June 1, 2014, Plaintiff did not have an impairment or combination of
17 impairments that met or medically equaled the requirements of one of the
18 impairments from the Commissioner’s Listing of Impairments. Medical
19 improvement occurred on June 1, 2014. [AR 19.] Since June 1, 2014, Plaintiff had
20 an RFC to perform a range of light work. Plaintiff’s medical improvement was
21 related to the ability to work because it resulted in an increase in his RFC. [AR 21.]
22 Since June 1, 2014, Plaintiff was incapable of performing his past relevant work, but
23 he could perform other work in the national economy. [AR 29.] Accordingly,
24 Plaintiff’s disability ended on June 1, 2014, and Plaintiff did not become disabled
25 again since that date. [AR 29.]
26 Plaintiff filed a request for review of the ALJ’s decision, which the Appeals
27 Council considered but ultimately denied, making the ALJ’s decision the final
28 decision of the Commissioner. [AR 1-3.] This appeal followed.
1 III. GOVERNING STANDARD
2 Under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), the Court reviews the Commissioner’s decision to
3 determine if: (1) the Commissioner’s findings are supported by substantial evidence;
4 and (2) the Commissioner used correct legal standards. See Carmickle v. Comm’r
5 Soc. Sec. Admin., 533 F.3d 1155, 1159 (9th Cir. 2008); Brewes v. Comm’r Soc. Sec.
6 Admin., 682 F.3d 1157, 1161 (9th Cir. 2012) (internal citation omitted).
7 “Substantial evidence is more than a mere scintilla but less than a preponderance; it
8 is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a
9 conclusion.” Gutierrez v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 740 F.3d 519, 522-23 (9th Cir.
10 2014) (internal citations omitted).
11 The Court will uphold the Commissioner’s decision when the evidence is
12 susceptible to more than one rational interpretation. See Molina v. Astrue, 674 F.3d
13 1104, 1110 (9th Cir. 2012). However, the Court may review only the reasons stated
14 by the ALJ in his decision “and may not affirm the ALJ on a ground upon which he
15 did not rely.” Orn v. Astrue, 495 F.3d 625, 630 (9th Cir. 2007). The Court will not
16 reverse the Commissioner’s decision if it is based on harmless error, which exists if
17 the error is “inconsequential to the ultimate nondisability determination, or if despite
18 the legal error, the agency’s path may reasonably be discerned.” Brown-Hunter v.
19 Colvin, 806 F.3d 487, 492 (9th Cir. 2015).
IV. DISCUSSION
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21 Plaintiff argues that this matter should be remanded for an immediate and
22 permanent payment of benefits. Defendant concedes that this matter should be
23 remanded, but argues that it should be remanded for further administrative
24 proceedings. Specifically, Defendant requests that this Court remand the case to
25 enable the Commissioner to re-evaluate the “treating and nonexamining source
26 opinions” under the weighing rules in effect on June 26, 2014—the time of
27 Plaintiff’s medical improvement determination. [Dkt. 18 at 3.] Defendant explains
28 that the Social Security Administration amended its regulations regarding the
1 consideration of medical evidence—with those revisions applicable to all claims
2 filed after March 27, 2017. When reviewing Plaintiff’s case, the ALJ applied the
3 revised Social Security regulations effective March 27, 2017, however this was
4 incorrect as Plaintiff’s medical improvement determination occurred on June 26,
5 2014, before the revised regulations became effective. Thus, the agency’s decision
6 was reached through the application of the wrong legal standard.3
7 Because Defendant agrees that remand is appropriate, the only issue
8 remaining to be decided is whether remand should be for the determination of
9 benefits or for further proceedings. Defendant argues that further proceedings are
10 necessary because issues remain to be decided, while Plaintiff argues that his claim
11 should be remanded for the determination of benefits because remand for further
12 proceedings would unnecessarily delay the resolution of this matter and he was
13 unfairly prejudiced based on the “attitudes of the Secretary and subordinates” who
14 enacted regulations to “ensure that there is no hint of impropriety or unfairness
15 skewing the outcome of the determination process.” [Dkt. 20 at 1.]; [Dkt. 13 at 12.]
16 “When the ALJ denies benefits and the court finds error, the court ordinarily
17 must remand to the agency for further proceedings before directing an award of
18 benefits.” Leon v. Berryhill, 880 F.3d 1041, 1045 (9th Cir. 2017) (citing Treichler
19 v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 775 F.3d 1090, 1099 (9th Cir. 2014)). However,
20 under the credit-as-true rule, the Court may order an immediate award of benefits if
21 three conditions are met. First, the Court asks, “whether the ‘ALJ failed to provide
22 legally sufficient reasons for rejecting evidence, whether claimant testimony or
23 medical opinion.’” Id. (quoting Garrison, 759 F.3d at 1020). Second, the Court
24 must “determine whether there are outstanding issues that must be resolved before a
25 disability determination can be made, . . . and whether further administrative
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27 3 Defendant also argues that remand is necessary to resolve conflicts between
the jobs identified by the vocational expert and the Dictionary of Occupational
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Titles.
1 proceedings would be useful.” Id. (citations and internal quotation marks omitted).
2 Third, the Court then “credit[s] the discredited testimony as true for the purpose of
3 determining whether, on the record taken as a whole, there is no doubt as to
4 disability.” Id. (citing Treichler, 775 F.3d at 1101).
5 It is only “rare circumstances that result in a direct award of benefits” and
6 “only when the record clearly contradicted an ALJ’s conclusory findings and no
7 substantial evidence within the record supported the reasons provided by the ALJ
8 for denial of benefits.” Id. at 1047. Further, even when all three criteria are met,
9 whether to make a direct award of benefits or remand for further proceedings is
10 within the district court’s discretion. Id. at 1045(citing Treichler, 775 F.3d at 1101).
11 While all three credit-as-true factors may be met, the record as a whole could still
12 leave doubts as to whether the claimant is actually disabled. Trevizo v. Berryhill,
13 871 F.3d 664, 683 n.11 (9th Cir. 2017). In such instances, remand for further
14 development of the record is warranted. Id.
15 The Court now analyzes the three-step framework to deduce whether this is a
16 rare circumstance where the Court may decide not to remand for further
17 proceedings. See Treichler, 775 F.3d at 1103. As to the first step, Defendant is
18 correct in asserting that the revised regulations that became effective on March 27,
19 2017 do not apply to this case. Thus, the ALJ’s evaluation of the medical evidence
20 using the revised standard was error.
21 Second, the Court determines whether further administrative proceedings
22 would serve no useful purpose by considering whether the record has conflicts,
23 ambiguities, gaps, or unresolved factual issues. Id. at 1104. In conducting the
24 second step, the Court considers whether there are inconsistencies between the
25 improperly rejected evidence and the medical evidence in the record. See
26 Dominguez v. Colvin, 808 F.3d 403, 407 (9th Cir. 2015) (quoting Treichler, 775
27 F.3d at 1105). Here, further administrative proceedings are necessary because the
28 ALJ’s analysis and opinion is derived from an application of the incorrect legal
1 standard. When the Appeals Council instructed the ALJ to re-adjudicate the
2 medical improvement determination, the Appeals Council expressly instructed the
3 ALJ to “evaluate the treating and nontreating source opinions” in accordance with
4 the provisions” in effect during 2014, “and explain the weight given to such opinion
5 evidence.” [AR 14, 191.] Although the ALJ acknowledged that instruction (AR
6 14), the ALJ did not apply the weighing rules in effect during 2014; instead, the ALJ
7 applied the persuasiveness rules governing medical opinions under the revised
8 regulations that became effective after March 27, 2017. [AR 20, 21, 25, 26; see also
9 AR 23.] This error caused the ALJ to improperly assess the medical evidence that
10 opined on Plaintiff’s capacity to perform relevant functions. Thus, the ALJ’s
11 decision should be remanded for further proceedings.
12 Finally, while the Court sympathizes with Plaintiff that remand will cause
13 further delay, this alone cannot be the basis for Plaintiff’s requested relief. See
14 Treichler, 775 F.3d at 1106. The case at bar is not “the unusual case in which it is
15 clear from the record that the claimant is unable to perform gainful employment in
16 the national economy.” Benecke v. Barnhart, 379 F.3d 587, 595 (9th Cir. 2004).
17 Rather, remand is necessary for reevaluation of the medical evidence, after which
18 the ALJ must conduct a new sequential evaluation, make new credibility findings,
19 give legally sufficient reasons for the rejection of probative evidence from
20 acceptable medical sources as well as other sources, and make new findings
21 regarding Plaintiffs residual functional capacity. Accordingly, the Court finds that
22 remand for further proceedings is the appropriate remedy here.
23 V. CONCLUSION
24 For all of the foregoing reasons, IT IS ORDERED that:
25 (1) Defendant’s Motion to Remand be GRANTED;
26 (2) Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment be DENIED, in part;
27 (3) the Decision of the Commissioner is REVERSED and this matter
28 REMANDED pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) for further
1 administrative proceedings consistent with this Order; and
2 (4) Judgment be entered in favor of Plaintiff.
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4 IT IS SO ORDERED.
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6 || DATED: June 25, 2021
7 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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