Scott Martin v. Nancy Berryhill

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JAN 22 2018
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
SCOTT DEAN MARTIN, No. 14-35769
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 3:13-cv-05787-KLS
v.
MEMORANDUM*
NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting
Commissioner Social Security,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Washington
Karen L. Strombom, Magistrate Judge, Presiding
Submitted January 18, 2018**
Before: THOMAS, Chief Judge, and TROTT and SILVERMAN, Circuit
Judges
Scott Martin appeals the district court’s decision affirming the
Commissioner of social Security’s denial of Martin’s application for disability
insurance benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act. We have jurisdiction
*
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).
under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo, Molina v. Astrue, 674 F.3d 1104,
1110 (9th Cir. 2012), and we affirm.
In determining that Martin retained the residual functional capacity (RFC) to
perform less than the full range of light work, the administrative law judge (ALJ)
properly accounted for all limitations supported by substantial evidence. See
Stubbs-Danielson v. Astrue, 539 F.3d 1169, 1174 (9th Cir. 2008).
Substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s conclusions regarding limitations
resulting from obesity and pain. See Batson v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 359
F.3d 1190, 1198 (9th Cir. 2004) (explaining that this Court will defer to the ALJ’s
RFC determination when the evidence before the ALJ is subject to more than one
rational interpretation). The ALJ properly rejected medical opinion evidence
regarding crouching and lifting by discussing other evidence in the record that
contradicted those limitations. See Valentine v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 574
F.3d 685, 692-93 (9th Cir. 2009) (concluding that the ALJ provided specific and
legitimate reasons to reject a treating physician’s opinion by discussing other
evidence in the record that contradicted the opinion); Batson, 359 F.3d at 1198
(resolving conflicting evidence regarding functional limitations is ALJ’s duty).
Because substantial evidence did not show that obesity or pain disorder had more
than a minimal effect on Martin’s ability to work prior to his date last insured, the
ALJ did not err by finding that obesity was not a severe impairment and not
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considering whether pain disorder was a severe impairment. See Webb v. Barnhart,
433 F.3d 683, 686-87 (9th Cir. 2005) (holding that an ALJ properly finds an
impairment is not severe when the medical evidence establishes that it has no more
than a minimal effect on the claimant’s ability to work). No substantial evidence
includes additional non-exertional limitations arising from obesity, pain, or carpal
tunnel syndrome that the ALJ failed to include in the RFC. See Batson, 359 F.3d at
1198. Any error in failing to include additional limitations is harmless. See Stubbs-
Danielson, 539 F.3d at 1174 (holding that failure to include limitations in the RFC
is harmless when the ALJ identified jobs that accommodate those limitations).
The ALJ provided several clear and convincing reasons supported by
substantial evidence to find Martin’s testimony not credible regarding the severity
of his symptoms. First, objective medical evidence was inconsistent with the
alleged limitations. See Molina, 674 F.3d at 1113. Second, no physician opinions
corroborated the alleged severity of Martin’s limitations. See Burch v. Barnhart,
400 F.3d 676, 681 (9th Cir. 2005) (including lack of supporting medical evidence
as one factor that an ALJ can rely on in discrediting claimant testimony). Third, the
ALJ relied on internal inconsistencies in Martin’s statements throughout the record
to discredit his testimony. See Rollins v. Massanari, 261 F.3d 853, 857 (9th Cir.
2001). Fourth, failure to comply with treatment recommendations was inconsistent
with the alleged severity of Martin’s symptoms. See Molina, 674 F.3d at 1113-14
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(concluding that an ALJ may discredit claimant testimony based on an unexplained
or inadequately explained failure to complete a course of treatment).
The ALJ properly rejected Ms. Venable’s testimony because it largely
reiterated Martin’s own testimony and was inconsistent with the objective medical
evidence. See Molina, 674 F.3d at 1122 (holding that any error in rejecting lay
testimony is harmless when the lay testimony is discredited by the same evidence
used to discredit the claimant’s testimony); Bayliss v. Barnhart, 427 F.3d 1211,
1218 (9th Cir. 2005) (inconsistency with medical evidence is a germane reason to
reject lay testimony).
The hypothetical posed to the VE by the ALJ properly incorporated the
limitations that the ALJ identified in Martin’s RFC. See Stubbs-Danielson, 539
F.3d at 1175-76 (explaining that the appellant’s contention of error at step five fails
to raise a fresh issue when it restates the appellant’s arguments of error in assessing
the RFC).
AFFIRMED.
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