Coleman v. Saul


UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA LEQUESHA C., 1 Plaintiff, v. Case No. 20-cv-3581-RMM KILOLO KIJAKAZI, 2 Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Lequesha C. brought this action under a provision of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), seeking review of the Commissioner of Social Security’s decision to deny her claim for Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income benefits. With the parties’ consent the matter was referred to the undersigned for all purposes. See Sept. 20, 2020 Min. Order. Now pending are Ms. C.’s Motion for Judgment of Reversal, ECF No. 16, and the Commissioner’s Motion for Judgment of Affirmance, ECF No. 17. Having reviewed the Administrative Record, 3 the parties’ briefs, 4 and the relevant law, the Court grants Ms. C.’s 1 Plaintiff’s name has been partially redacted in keeping with the recommendation of the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management of the Judicial Conference of the United States. See Mem. from Hon. Wm. Terrell Hodges, Chair, Comm. on Ct. Admin. & Case Mgmt., to Chief Judges of the U.S. Cts. of Appeals et al. (May 1, 2018), available at https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/18-ap-c-suggestion_cacm_0.pdf. 2 Kilolo Kijakazi became Acting Commissioner of Social Security on July 9, 2021. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d) and the last sentence of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), Ms. Kijakazi is substituted for Andrew Saul as the Defendant in this case. 3 Page citations to the Administrative Record, ECF Nos. 12–13 (“AR”), refer to the running pagination at the lower right margin. 4 The relevant briefs are Ms. C.’s Motion for Judgment of Reversal, ECF No. 16 (“Pl. Mem.”); the Commissioner’s Memorandum in Support of her Motion for Judgment of Affirmance and in Opposition to Ms. C.’s Motion, ECF No. 18 (“Def. Mem.”); and Ms. C.’s Reply in Support of her Motion and in Opposition to the Commissioner’s Motion, ECF No. 19. Motion for Judgment of Reversal, denies the Commissioner’s Motion for Judgment of Affirmance, and remands this matter to the Social Security Administration with instructions to calculate and enter an award of benefits, for the reasons that follow. BACKGROUND Ms. C. applied for Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income benefits in November 2015, when she was thirty-six years old. AR 279–80, 283–90. Her disability claim is based on a combination of physical and mental impairments including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”), chronic back pain, headaches, asthma, insomnia, and urinary incontinence. See AR 251, 438–41. She initially alleged that her disability began in February 2015, but later amended her “onset date” to January 1, 2016. AR 43–44, 279. Prior to her onset date, Ms. C. worked as a care manager, retail associate, and certified nursing assistant. AR 328, 869. She has not worked since her amended onset date. See AR 19, 319. She lives in an apartment in Washington, D.C., with her two minor sons, both of whom are disabled. AR 54, 58. Ms. C.’s application for benefits was denied …

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