Sheila Gaines v. Nancy Berryhill ( 2018 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 17-2381
SHEILA L. GAINES,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
NANCY A. BERRYHILL,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Greenbelt.
Thomas M. DiGirolamo, Magistrate Judge. (8:16-cv-02539-TMD)
Submitted: March 29, 2018 Decided: April 2, 2018
Before AGEE and DIAZ, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Sheila L. Gaines, Appellant Pro Se. Jay C. Hinsley, Special Assistant United States
Attorney, Office of General Counsel, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION,
Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Sheila L. Gaines appeals the magistrate judge’s order upholding the
Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) denial of Gaines’ application for disability insurance
benefits. * “In social security proceedings, a court of appeals applies the same standard of
review as does the district court. That is, a reviewing court must uphold the
determination when an ALJ has applied correct legal standards and the ALJ’s factual
findings are supported by substantial evidence.” Brown v. Comm’r Soc. Sec. Admin., 873
F.3d 251, 267 (4th Cir. 2017) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
“Substantial evidence is that which a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to
support a conclusion. It consists of more than a mere scintilla of evidence but may be
less than a preponderance.” Pearson v. Colvin, 810 F.3d 204, 207 (4th Cir. 2015)
(citation and internal quotation marks omitted). “In reviewing for substantial evidence,
we do not undertake to reweigh conflicting evidence, make credibility determinations, or
substitute our judgment for that of the ALJ. Where conflicting evidence allows
reasonable minds to differ as to whether a claimant is disabled, the responsibility for that
decision falls on the ALJ.” Hancock v. Astrue, 667 F.3d 470, 472 (4th Cir. 2012)
(brackets, citation, and internal quotation marks omitted).
We have reviewed the record and perceive no reversible error. The ALJ applied
the correct legal standards in evaluating Gaines’ claim for benefits, and the ALJ’s factual
*
The parties consented to a final disposition by the magistrate judge, pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 636(c) (2012).
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findings are supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, we affirm the magistrate
judge’s order upholding the denial of benefits. See Gaines v. Berryhill, No.
8:16-cv-02539-TMD (D. Md. filed Sept. 30, 2017 & entered Oct. 2, 2017). We dispense
with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in
the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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