Filed: Oct. 14, 2020
Latest Update: Oct. 14, 2020
Summary: FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION OCT 14 2020 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT KIRK ALLEN MARSHALL, No. 19-35303 Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 3:18-cv-05546-MJP v. MEMORANDUM* ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant-Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington Marsha J. Pechman, District Judge, Presiding Submitted October 7, 2020** Seattle, Washington Before: CALLAHAN and C
Summary: FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION OCT 14 2020 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT KIRK ALLEN MARSHALL, No. 19-35303 Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 3:18-cv-05546-MJP v. MEMORANDUM* ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant-Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington Marsha J. Pechman, District Judge, Presiding Submitted October 7, 2020** Seattle, Washington Before: CALLAHAN and CH..
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FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
OCT 14 2020
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
KIRK ALLEN MARSHALL, No. 19-35303
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 3:18-cv-05546-MJP
v.
MEMORANDUM*
ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of
Social Security,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Washington
Marsha J. Pechman, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted October 7, 2020**
Seattle, Washington
Before: CALLAHAN and CHRISTEN, Circuit Judges, and RAKOFF,*** District
Judge.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
***
The Honorable Jed S. Rakoff, United States District Judge for the
Southern District of New York, sitting by designation.
Appellant Kirk Marshall appeals the district court’s order affirming the
denial of Title II Social Security benefits. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm. We review an appeal of a denial of Title II benefits
de novo and reverse only if the decision “is either not supported by substantial
evidence or is based upon legal error.” Luther v. Berryhill,
891 F.3d 872, 875 (9th
Cir. 2018). Because the parties are familiar with the facts of the case, we recite
only those necessary to resolve the issues on appeal.
1. The ALJ provided “clear and convincing reasons” for rejecting
Marshall’s subjective testimony about his pain. Robbins v. Soc. Sec. Admin.,
466
F.3d 880, 883 (9th Cir. 2006) (citing Smolen v. Chater,
80 F.3d 1273, 1283–84
(9th Cir. 1996)). The ALJ identified specific inconsistencies between Marshall’s
testimony and the record evidence, such as Marshall’s testimony about his
marijuana use and its impact on his June 2009 termination from employment, and
the disjunction between his statements that he could not walk and medical evidence
showing that his gait was normal. We see no error.1
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Marshall argues that the ALJ’s 2015 decision, where he was found to
be disabled for purposes of his Title XVI claim, contradicts the ALJ’s 2017 Title II
decision. However, the ALJ issued the second decision five years after the period
at issue here. The subsequent award took into account the progression of
Marshall’s degenerative disc disease. Accordingly, there is no conflict.
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2. The ALJ did not err in its assessment of the medical evidence. First, the
ALJ properly discounted the opinions of Dr. Hoskins, a non-examining physician,
because Dr. Hoskins limited Marshall’s standing and walking capabilities solely
based on Marshall’s medical history and radiographic records, not an evaluation of
Marshall’s demonstrated functioning. In light of Marshall’s occasional complaints
and record medical evidence about his normal gait and strength, the ALJ found Dr.
Hoksins’s observations inconsistent with the record as a whole. See Ryan v.
Comm’r of Soc. Sec.,
528 F.3d 1194, 1201 (9th Cir. 2008). Second, the ALJ
properly weighed the opinions of Marshall’s examining physicians, Drs.
Chilczuck, Fajardo, and Wingate, based on specific and legitimate reasons
supported by the record. See Garrison v. Colvin,
759 F.3d 995, 1012 (9th Cir.
2014). The ALJ properly assigned Dr. Chilczuck’s first opinion limited weight
because it was inconsistent with his own medical examination and the record as a
whole. The ALJ assigned limited weight to Dr. Chilczuck’s second opinion as
well because it was based solely on Marshall’s history and radiographic imaging,
not a physical exam, and it was made after the period at issue here. The ALJ also
properly assigned limited weight to Dr. Wingate’s opinion about Marshall’s mental
health because Marshall did not disclose to her details of his marijuana use and
because his complaints were not consistent with his contemporaneous milder
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complaints to other providers. Finally, the ALJ properly assigned Dr. Fajardo’s
opinion significant weight because it was based on a physical evaluation and
consistent with both the medical record and Marshall’s own testimony.
Accordingly, we see no error in the ALJ’s assessment of the medical evidence.
3. The ALJ did not err by rejecting Marshall’s mother’s lay statement
because the ALJ gave specific, germane reasons for doing so. See Carmickle v.
Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin.,
533 F.3d 1155, 1163–64 (9th Cir. 2008).
Specifically, the ALJ observed that the statement gave “no indication that [it]
described limitations that existed during the period at issue” and was inconsistent
with medical evidence.
4. The ALJ properly based its residual function capacity (RFC)
determination on limitations that it found credible. See Bayliss v. Barnhart,
427
F.3d 1211, 1217 (9th Cir. 2005). Though the ALJ erred by including in its
consideration a past job that Marshall never performed, that error was harmless
because the ALJ also considered jobs that Marshall previously performed.
5. The ALJ’s Step Five findings were supported by substantial evidence.
See Biestek v. Berryhill, ––– U.S. ––––,
139 S. Ct. 1148, 1157 (2019). The ALJ
did not err when assigning Marshall’s RFC, as discussed. The ALJ also considered
the vocational expert’s testimony in which the expert acknowledged that he
4
adjusted his recommendations to account for outdated listings in the Dictionary of
Occupational Job Titles.
AFFIRMED.
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