Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-4_11-cv-00339/USCOURTS-azd-4_11-cv-00339-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 863
Nature of Suit: Social Security - DIWC/DIWW (405(g))
Cause of Action: 42:405 Review of HHS Decision (SSID)

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1 The Court reviews de novo the objected-to portions of the Report and Recommendation.

28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b). The Court reviews for clear error the unobjected-to

portions of the Report and Recommendation. Johnson v. Zema Systems Corp., 170 F.3d 734, 739

(7th Cir. 1999); see also Conley v. Crabtree, 14 F. Supp. 2d 1203, 1204 (D. Or. 1998).

WO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Jose Abel Marquez,

Plaintiff, 

vs.

Michael J. Astrue,

Commissioner of Social Security 

Defendant. 

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No. CV 11-339-TUC-JGZ

ORDER

 On May 2, 2012, Magistrate Judge Thomas D. Ferraro issued a Report and

Recommendation (Doc. 19) in which he recommended that Plaintiff's Social Security appeal

be remanded to the Social Security Administration for further proceedings. On May 15,

2012, Defendant filed Objections to the Report and Recommendation; Plaintiff timely

responded. (Docs. 20, 21.) The Court adopts the Report and Recommendation of the

Magistrate Judge.1

Magistrate Judge's Recitation of the Record on Appeal

 The Court adopts the recitation of the record on appeal as stated by the Magistrate Judge.

Magistrate’s Recommendations

 Plaintiff’s appeal presents two issues: whether the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) failed

to provide sufficient justification for the conflict between the testimony of the vocational

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2 SSR 00-40 provides in relevant part as follows: “[O]ccupational evidence provided by a

[vocational expert] generally should be consistent with the occupational information supplied by the

DOT. When there is an apparent unresolved conflict between [vocational expert] evidence and the

DOT, the adjudicator must elicit a reasonable explanation for the conflict before relying on the

[vocational expert] evidence to support a determination or decision about whether the claimant is

disabled.”

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expert (“VE”) and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (“DOT”); and whether the hearing

transcript has a material defect. The Magistrate concluded that the ALJ’s decision was not

supported by substantial evidence because the ALJ failed to explain the inconsistency

between the VE’s testimony and the DOT and therefore remand was appropriate. The

Magistrate did not make a finding regarding whether an admittedly inaudible portion of the

transcript constituted a material defect, and instead recommended that the ALJ re-take the

VE’s entire testimony if the case is remanded for further proceedings.

Defendant’s Objections

 Defendant contends that the Magistrate’s conclusion that remand was necessary was

erroneous because the ALJ discharged her duty to determine the reliability of the VE’s

testimony. In addition, Defendant reasserts the arguments made in his Opposition to

Plaintiff’s Opening Brief with respect to the incomplete record.

A. Conflict between VE and DOT

 When a VE provides evidence about the requirements of a job or occupation, the ALJ

has an affirmative responsibility to ask about any potential conflict between the VE’s

testimony and information provided in the DOT. See Social Security Ruling 00-4p (“SSR

00-4p”).2

 If the vocational expert’s testimony appears to contravene the DOT, the ALJ must

obtain a reasonable explanation for that conflict. SSR 00-4p. The ALJ must then address

any conflict between the VE and the DOT in his/her written decision. 

 In the present case, the ALJ concluded that Plaintiff could perform light work not

involving any overhead work with his left upper extremity. Because Plaintiff could not

perform all the requirements of light work, the ALJ took testimony from a VE, who stated

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that Plaintiff could work as a cashier, parking attendant and courier. The ALJ instructed the

VE to identify any conflict between the VE’s testimony and the DOT; the VE did not

mention any conflicts during her testimony. (AR 54-55.) In her written decision, the ALJ

concluded that the VE’s testimony was consistent with the DOT. On appeal, the Magistrate

rejected this conclusion as unsupported by substantial evidence. According to the

Magistrate, the VE’s testimony that a person who could not reach overhead with one arm

could work as a cashier, parking attendant or courier was potentially inconsistent with the

DOT’s statement that each of those jobs requires “frequent reaching.” The Magistrate

concluded that, pursuant to SSR 00-4p, the ALJ should have asked the VE to explain this

potential conflict and address the potential conflict in her written decision. Accordingly, the

Magistrate recommended that Plaintiff’s appeal be remanded for further proceedings.

 Defendant objects to the Magistrate’s conclusion on the ground that the ALJ satisfied her

obligations under SSR 00-4p when she asked the VE to identify conflicts between her

testimony and the DOT. According to Defendant, the ALJ was entitled to rely on the VE’s

failure to identify any conflicts as substantial evidence supporting the ALJ’s conclusion that

no conflicts existed. In support of this argument, Defendant cites to Wentz v. Commissioner

Social Sec. Admin., 401 Fed.Appx. 189 (9th Cir. 2010) (unpublished). In Wentz, the plaintiff

alleged that an error occurred at step five of the ALJ’s analysis because the VE's testimony

(on which the ALJ relied) conflicted with the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (“DOT”).

Id. at **2. The Court rejected the claim, stating that “the ALJ asked the VE to identify any

conflicts between her testimony and the DOT, and the VE identified none. Wentz's attorney

then cross-examined the VE, but did not challenge her representation that her testimony

comported with the DOT. Accordingly, the ALJ met his obligations under Massachi and SSR

00–4p to investigate potential conflicts with the DOT, and his reliance on the VE testimony

was therefore proper.” Id.

 Although Wentz supports Defendant’s objection, it is an unpublished decision without

precedential value and this Court is inclined to respectfully disagree with its holding. See

9th Cir. R. 36-3(a) (unpublished decisions of the Ninth Circuit are not precedent). The Court

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notes that Massachi v. Astrue, 486 F.3d 1149 (9th Cir. 2007), on which Wentz relies, does not

suggest that the ALJ need look no further than the VE’s testimony in order to meet his/her

obligation under SSR 00-4p to search for conflicts between the VE and the DOT. Instead,

Massachi construes SSR 00-4p as “explicitly requiring that the ALJ determine whether the

expert's testimony deviates from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles and whether there is

a reasonable explanation for any deviation.” Id. at 1153. Massachi goes on to explain:

The procedural requirements of SSR 00-4p ensure that the record is clear as to why an

ALJ relied on a vocational expert's testimony, particularly in cases where the expert's

testimony conflicts with the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. In making disability

determinations, the Social Security Administration relies primarily on the Dictionary

of Occupational Titles for “information about the requirements of work in the national

economy.” The Social Security Administration also uses testimony from vocational

experts to obtain occupational evidence. Although evidence provided by a vocational

expert “generally should be consistent” with the Dictionary of Occupational Titles,

“[n]either the [ Dictionary of Occupational Titles ] nor the [vocational expert] ...

evidence automatically ‘trumps' when there is a conflict.” Thus, the ALJ must first

determine whether a conflict exists. If it does, the ALJ must then determine whether the

vocational expert's explanation for the conflict is reasonable and whether a basis exists

for relying on the expert rather than the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

Id. (citations omitted). Thus, the ALJ has the duty to fully develop the record and is charged

with arbitrating conflicts between the VE and the DOT; the ALJ cannot simply rely on the

VE’s testimony that no such conflicts exist. This requirement is consistent with the Supreme

Court's observation that “Social Security proceedings are inquisitorial rather than adversarial.

It is the ALJ's duty to investigate the facts and develop the arguments both for and against

granting benefits....” Sims v. Apfel, 530 U.S. 103, 111 (2000).

 Defendant also objects to the Magistrate’s conclusion that a conflict existed between the

VE’s testimony and the DOT. Relying on Nelson v. Astrue, 2010 WL 4286316 (N.D. Cal.

2010), Defendant claims that nothing would intuitively suggest that the jobs of cashier,

parking attendant or courier could require overhead reaching. See Nelson, 2010 WL

4286316 at *3 (finding no obvious conflict between the jobs of ticket seller or order clerk and

an inability to reach overhead with one arm). The Court disagrees. The DOT states that the

jobs of cashier, parking attendant and courier each require frequent reaching. It is reasonable

to conclude that this reaching could encompass each and every direction. See Selected

Characteristics of Occupations Defined in the Revised Dictionary of Occupational Titles,

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App. C; SSR 85-15 (defining reaching as extending arms and hands in any direction). Given

the ALJ’s conclusion that, due to Plaintiff’s left shoulder fracture he could perform only light

work “not involving any overhead work with his left upper extremity,” the ALJ should have

been alerted to an apparent conflict between the VE’s testimony that a person who cannot

reach overhead can work as a cashier, parking attendant or courier and the DOT’s definition

of those jobs as requiring frequent reaching in any direction. Accordingly, the Court agrees

with the Magistrate Judge and the numerous district court cases cited in the Report and

Recommendation which find conflict between VE testimony that a claimant limited in

overhead reaching can perform particular jobs and DOT descriptions that those jobs require

frequent reaching. (Doc. 19, pgs. 4-5.) 

B. Material defect in record

 In his opening brief, Plaintiff correctly noted that the transcript of the administrative

hearing contained a notation indicating that a portion of the ALJ’s hypothetical to the VE

regarding whether a person with Plaintiff’s limitation could perform past relevant work was

inaudible. The Magistrate did not make a finding regarding whether the omission

constituted a material defect, but nevertheless recommended that the ALJ re-take the VE’s

entire testimony given that the case is subject to remand on other grounds. Defendant objects

to the Magistrate’s decision “for the reasons stated in Defendant’s Opposition to Plaintiff’s

Opening Brief.” (Doc. 20, pg. 2, n.1.) Defendant’s Opposition essentially argued that the

missing language could be inferred from other portions of the transcript and the ALJ’s

decision. As previously stated, the Court will remand this matter for further proceedings due

to the ALJ’s failure to consider an apparent conflict between the VE’s testimony and the

DOT. On remand, the ALJ will need to hear testimony from the VE in order to address this

error, given that SSR 00-4p requires the ALJ to ask the VE to explain the potential conflict.

Therefore, the Court concludes that the most expeditious resolution of the transcript defect

is, as the Magistrate Judge suggested, for the ALJ to re-take the VE’s entire testimony. 

Conclusion

Accordingly, after an independent review, IT IS ORDERED:

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1. The Report and Recommendation (Doc. 19) is ADOPTED;

2. This matter is REMANDED to the ALJ for further development of the record.

On remand, the ALJ shall re-take the testimony of the VE and shall expressly

resolve any conflicts between the testimony of the VE and the DOT.

DATED this 23rd day of July, 2012.

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