Order

EDWARD C. REED, District Judge.

On November 3, 2011, the Magistrate Judge filed a Report and Recommendation (#19), recommending that the Court affirm the Administrative Law Judge's ("ALJ") decision and deny Plaintiff's Motion to Remand (#13).

Plaintiff filed objections to the Report and Recommendation (#22), specifically challenging the Magistrate Judge's consideration of the lay witness statement by Plaintiff's friend, Ellen Hainey. Ms. Hainey's letter was not submitted until after the ALJ held the hearing on this matter, and the ALJ did not specifically address the lay witness testimony. Ms. Hainey's letter was considered by the Appeals Council, however, which found no basis to change the ALJ's decision. The ALJ's conclusions are not inconsistent with Ms. Hainey's letter. For these reasons, the Magistrate Judge concluded that if Ms. Hainey's letter was mistakenly omitted from the record, the error was harmless under Stout v. Commissioner, 454 F.3d 1050, 1054-1057 (9th Cir. 2006).

When an ALJ fails to address lay witness testimony, a heightened harmless error standard applies, such that "a reviewing court cannot consider the error harmless unless it can confidently conclude that no reasonable ALJ, when fully crediting the testimony, could have reached a different disability determination." Stout, 454 F.3d at 1056. We agree with the Magistrate Judge's determination that Ms. Hainey's letter is not inconsistent with the ALJ's decision and therefore a failure to address it was harmless.

Plaintiff did not object to the other findings and recommendations of the Report and Recommendation (#19). The Report and Recommendation (#19) is well-taken, and is therefore APPROVED AND ADOPTED.

The ALJ's decision is AFFIRMED, and Plaintiff's Motion to Remand (#13) is DENIED.

The Clerk shall enter judgment accordingly.