United States District Court, M.D. Tennessee, Northeastern Division
KIMBERLY G. FOX
v.
ANDREW M. SAUL Commissioner of Social Security[1]
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
BARBARA D. HOLMES, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
To: The
Honorable Waverly D. Crenshaw, Chief District Judge
Plaintiff
filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g)
and 1383(c)(3) to obtain judicial review of the final
decision of the Social Security Administration
(“Commissioner”) denying Plaintiff's claim
for Disability Insurance Benefits (“DIB”) as
provided under Title II of the Social Security Act
(“the Act”). The case is currently pending on
Plaintiff's motion for judgment on the administrative
record (see Docket Entry (“DE”) 16), to
which Defendant has filed a response. See DE 21.
This matter has been referred to the undersigned pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 636(b) for initial consideration and a
report and recommendation. See DE 5.
Upon
review of the administrative record as a whole and
consideration of the parties' filings, the undersigned
Magistrate Judge respectfully recommends that Plaintiff's
motion for judgment on the administrative record (DE 16) be
DENIED.
I.
INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff
filed an application for DIB on December 30, 2015 in which
she asserted that she was unable to work due to spondylosis,
bulging disks, sciatic nerve damage, osteoarthritis in the
hips and knees, fibromyalgia, diabetes, hemiplegic migraines,
chronic ovarian cysts, depression, and anxiety. See
Transcript of the Administrative Record (DE 12) at 88,
111.[2]
She alleged a disability onset date of November 15, 2012. AR
88.
Plaintiff's
applications were denied initially and upon reconsideration
AR 88, 106. Pursuant to her request for a hearing before an
administrative law judge (“ALJ”), Plaintiff
appeared with counsel and testified at a hearing before ALJ
George L. Evans on August 17, 2017. AR 36. On October 31,
2017, the ALJ denied the claim. AR 12-14. On August 20, 2018,
the Appeals Council denied Plaintiff's request for a
review of the ALJ's decision (AR 1-3), thereby making the
ALJ's decision the final decision of the Commissioner.
This civil action was thereafter timely filed and this Court
has jurisdiction. 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).
II.
THE ALJ FINDINGS
As part
of the decision, the ALJ made the following enumerated
findings:
1. The claimant meets the insured status requirements of the
Social Security Act through December 31, 2017.
2. The claimant has not engaged in substantial gainful
activity since November 15, 2012, the alleged onset date (20
CFR 404.1571 et seq.).
3. The claimant has the following severe impairments:
degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine;
osteoarthritis; myalgias/fibromyalgia; obesity; diabetes
mellitus; migraine headaches; ovarian cysts; depression; and
anxiety (20 CFR 404.1520(c)).
4. The claimant does not have an impairment or combination of
impairments that meets or medically equals the severity of
one of the listed impairments in 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P,
Appendix 1 (20 CFR 404.1520(d), 404.1525 and 404.1526).
5. After careful consideration of the entire record, the
undersigned finds that the claimant has the residual
functional capacity to perform sedentary work as defined in
20 CFR 404.1567(a) except she can perform no climbing or
crawling, but she can occasionally bend or stoop. She can
perform no pushing of foot controls. In addition, the
claimant can perform unskilled work and can perform jobs
requiring no more than one to three step instructions. She
can perform jobs that do not require dealing with the public
and only occasional interaction with co-workers and
supervisors.
6. The claimant is unable to perform any past relevant work
(20 CFR 404.1565).
7. The claimant was born on March 6, 1972 and was 40 years
old, which is defined as a younger individual age 18-44, on
the alleged disability onset date. The claimant subsequently
changed age category to a younger individual age 45-49 (20
CFR 404.1563).
8. The claimant has at least a high school education and is
able to communicate in English (20 CFR 404.1564).
9. Transferability of job skills is not material to the
determination of disability because using the
Medical-Vocational Rules as a framework supports a finding
that the claimant is “not disabled, ” whether or
not the claimant has transferable job skills (See SSR 82-41
and 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 2).
10. Considering the claimant's age, education, work
experience, and residual functional capacity, there are jobs
that exist in significant numbers in the national economy
that the claimant can perform (20 CFR 404.1569 and
404.1569(a)).
11. The claimant has not been under a disability, as defined
in the Social Security Act, from November 15, 2012 through
the date of ...