United States District Court, E.D. Tennessee, Knoxville
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Clifford Shirley, Jr. United States Magistrate Judge.
This
case is before the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
636(b), Rule 72(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
and the consent of the parties [Doc. 12]. Now before the
Court is the Plaintiff's Motion for Judgment on the
Pleadings and Memorandum in Support [Docs. 10 & 11] and
the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and
Memorandum in Support [Docs. 15 & 16]. Shelia Stinson
(“the Plaintiff”) seeks judicial review of the
decision of the Administrative Law Judge (“the
ALJ”), the final decision of the Defendant Nancy A.
Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of Social Security (“the
Commissioner”). For the reasons that follow, the Court
will GRANT the Plaintiff's motion, and
DENY the Commissioner's motion.
I.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On
December 10, 2012, the Plaintiff filed an application for
disability insurance benefits, claiming a period of
disability which began January 3, 2005. [Tr. 133-35]. After
her application was denied initially and upon
reconsideration, the Plaintiff requested a hearing before an
ALJ. [Tr. 87]. During the hearing, the Plaintiff amended her
alleged onset date to May 31, 2009, the same day as her date
last insured. [Tr. 36]. Following the hearing [Tr. 27-60],
the ALJ rendered a decision on November 17, 2014, finding
that the Plaintiff was not disabled [Tr. 14-26]. The Appeals
Council denied the Plaintiff's request for review [Tr.
1-4]; thus, the ALJ's decision became the final decision
of the Commissioner.
Having
exhausted her administrative remedies, the Plaintiff filed a
Complaint with this Court on May 17, 2016, seeking judicial
review of the Commissioner's final decision under Section
405(g) of the Social Security Act. [Doc. 1]. The parties have
filed competing dispositive motions, and this matter is now
ripe for adjudication.
II.
ALJ FINDINGS
The ALJ
made the following findings:
1. The claimant last met the insured status requirements of
the Social Security Act on March 31, 2009.
2. The claimant did not engage in substantial gainful
activity during the period from her alleged onset date of
January 3, 2005 through her date last insured of March 31,
2009.
3. Through the date last insured, there were no medical signs
or laboratory findings to substantiate the existence of a
medically determinable impairment.
4. The claimant was not under a disability, as defined in the
Social Security Act, at any time from January 3, 2005, the
alleged onset date through March 3, 2009, the date last
insured.
[Tr. 14-26].
III.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
When
reviewing the Commissioner's determination of whether an
individual is disabled pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g),
the Court is limited to determining whether the ALJ's
decision was reached through application of the correct legal
standards and in accordance with the procedure mandated by
the regulations and rulings promulgated by the Commissioner,
and whether the ALJ's findings are supported by
substantial evidence. Blakley v. Comm'r of Soc.
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