FREDERIC BLOCK, Senior District Judge.
Plaintiff Adele E. Nieves ("Nieves") seeks review of the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security ("Commissioner") denying her application for Social Security Disability ("SSD") and Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") benefits. Both Nieves and the Commissioner move for judgment on the pleadings. For the reasons stated below, Nieves's motion is granted, and the Commissioner's motion is denied. The case is remanded for calculation of benefits.
On October 5, 2012, Nieves applied for SSD and SSI benefits alleging disability onset as of December 31, 2009 for diabetes, back pain, pain in lower extremities, obesity, hyperlipidemia, opium and marijuana abuse in remission, bipolar disorder, schizo-affective disorder, asthma, and hypertension. Applying the familiar five stepprocess,
"In reviewing a final decision of the Commissioner, a district court must determine whether the correct legal standards were applied and whether substantial evidence supports the decision." Butts v. Barnhart, 388 F.3d 377, 384 (2d Cir. 2004). Substantial evidence is "such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Halloran v. Barnhart, 362 F.3d 28, 31 (2d Cir. 2004) (quoting Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401 (1971)). If contradictions appear in the record and the ALJ fails to reasonably explain why he or she opted for one interpretation over another, the Commissioner's findings must fall. See, e.g., Balsamo v. Chater, 142 F.3d 75, 81 (2d Cir. 1998) ("[T]he ALJ cannot arbitrarily substitute his own judgment for competent medical opinion . . .").
Nieves argues that the ALJ erred in finding that Nieves did not meet the listings 12.03 and 12.04 for "schizophrenia spectrum, and other psychotic disorders" and "depressive, bipolar and related disorders," respectively, because substantial evidence did not support his determination. 20 CFR Pt. 404, Subpt. P, App. 1, §§ 12.03A-C, 12.04A-C. The Court agrees.
Inexplicably, the ALJ did not even consider Nieves's symptoms under 12.03. This alone would require remand for reconsideration. After review, there is uncontrovertable evidence in the record that Nieves meets the requirements of the 12.03 listing.
To meet the requirements of listing 12.03, the listing for schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, the claimant must meet the requirements of 12.03A and either 12.03B or 12.03C. 20 CFR Pt. 404, Subpt. P, App. 1, § 12.03A-C. Section 12.03A requires medical documentation of one or more of the following: delusions or hallucinations, disorganized thinking (speech), or grossly disorganized behavior or catatonia. Id. § 12.03A. Nieves meets 12.03A because she suffers from auditory hallucinations. She hears voices, carries on conversations with dead relatives, and in June 2012, she broke a bottle over a stranger's head at the instruction of her auditory hallucinations. She was hospitalized for her hallucinations in 1997, 1998, 2010 and 2012.
Section 12.03B requires at least two of the following limitations of mental functioning related to the impairment: (1) marked restriction of activities of daily living; (2) marked difficulties in maintaining social functioning; (3) marked difficulties in maintaining concentration, persistence, or pace; or (4) repeated episodes of decompensation, each of extended duration.
Nieves exhibits marked restriction of activities of daily living because she is unable to dress herself, clean, or cook without external intervention. She requires daily intervention by her daughter to make sure she gets out of bed, gets dressed, bathes, grooms herself, and takes her medication. She lives in a managed mental facility with a social worker available daily (her social worker visits her twice a week). Her supervisor at the facility visits once a month to clean her apartment. Prior to her current living arrangement, she was homeless or living in shelters. When she does not leave the house, she does not dress herself and often does not get out of bed. Nieves cooks only with a microwave because she is unable to manage a stove with burners. When she had a stove with burners, she would forget to turn them off and frequently burn herself. For her own safety, her stove was removed. Given her inability to perform these basic daily functions, she suffers extreme limitations in daily living.
Nieves exhibits marked limitations in social functioning because she has little social contact with others and has a history of violence related to her disorders. She rarely leaves her mental health facility. Her primary interactions with others are with her daughter, who calls her daily to make sure she gets dressed, takes her medication, and cares for herself, and the supervisor. Nieves rarely goes out and is afraid to take the train because she was the victim of a rape. She will now only go on the train if she is accompanied by another person. She does not own a car. Due to her depression, she cries for at least an hour every day. She was unable to control her crying during her hearing with the ALJ. As mentioned before, her voices have instructed her to physically assault a stranger on at least one occasion, an instruction she acted upon. Her psychiatric history also includes reference to a previous act of violence against a woman at a Back-to-Work program. Her hospitalization in 2012 was triggered in part because she reported homicidal ideation. Her related bipolar disorder caused her to steal money from a previous employer during her manic phases. This long history of maladaption to society, including a history of violence, shows extreme limitations in her ability to maintain social functioning.
Nieves's medical record supports this finding as well. She has a long record of treatment with Dr. Icelini Garcia-Sosa, M.D. at the Floating Hospital, as well as multiple hospitalizations for her mental disorders. She sees a psychiatrist monthly and a psychotherapist twice a month. Her doctors have diagnosed her with schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder. Dr. Garcia-Sosa noted that she met all four requirements of 12.03B,
The ALJ considered her impairments under 12.04—the listing for depression and bipolar disorder—but found the above problems constituted only moderate impairments.
There is simply no reading of the evidence in this case that supports the ALJ's conclusion. Because both 12.03A and 12.03B are satisfied, Nieves meets the 12.03 listing for schizophrenic disorders and is disabled.
"Because the record provides persuasive proof of plaintiff's disability, proper application of the legal standards would not contradict the weight of this evidence in the record, and `the Commissioner failed to introduce evidence sufficient to sustain [her] burden of proving that [plaintiff] could perform the exertional requirements of sedentary work,' the proper course of action is to reverse the ALJ Decision and `remand the matter to the Commissioner for a calculation of disability benefits.'" Henningsen v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 111 F.Supp.3d 250, 273 (E.D.N.Y. 2015) (quoting Curry v. Apfel, 209 F.3d 117, 124 (2d Cir. 2000)); see also Finnegan v. Berryhill, 2017 WL 4990565, at *5 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 30, 2017) (noting need to combat long delays in processing social security cases).
Nieves's motion is granted, and the Commissioner's motion is denied. The case is remanded for calculation of benefits.