Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-03-02922/USCOURTS-ca8-03-02922-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Jo Anne B. Barnhart
Appellee
LaTonya Lewis-Leavy
Appellant

Document Text:

1

The Honorable G. Thomas Eisele, United States District Judge for the Eastern

District of Arkansas, adopting the report and recommendations of the Honorable John

F. Forster, Jr., United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 03-2922

___________

Latonya Lewis-Leavy, *

*

Appellant, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* Eastern District of Arkansas.

Jo Anne B. Barnhart, Commissioner of *

Social Security Administration, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Appellee. *

___________

Submitted: April 16, 2004 

Filed: July 9, 2004

___________

Before MELLOY, HANSEN, and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Latonya Lewis-Leavy appeals the district court’s1

 order affirming the denial of

disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income. Having carefully

reviewed the record, see Dixon v. Barnhart, 324 F.3d 997, 1000 (8th Cir. 2003)

(standard of review), we affirm. 

Appellate Case: 03-2922 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/09/2004 Entry ID: 1786234 
2

Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic disease of the sweat glands. Pores

become occluded, causing tender and inflamed abscesses that enlarge, break through

the skin, and yield purulent drainage. See Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary

822 (29th ed. 2000). 

-2-

In her September 1996 applications, Lewis-Leavy alleged disability since

October 1995 from hidradenitis suppurativa2

; she later added depression and

concentration problems as bases for disability. After a September 1997 hearing, an

administrative law judge (ALJ) found Lewis-Leavy entitled to a closed period of

disability from her alleged onset date through March 1, 1997, but the Appeals

Council remanded for reconsideration of her disability status after March 1, 1997.

Meanwhile, in November 1998 Lewis-Leavy reapplied for benefits, alleging the same

onset date and impairments. After a December 1999 hearing, a second ALJ found

that Lewis-Leavy had severe hidradenitis suppurativa with multiple plastic surgeries,

hypertension, and dysthymic disorder, but that she had shown significant medical

improvement since March 1, 1997, and her impairments were not of listing-level

severity either alone or combined. Further, Lewis-Leavy had the residual functional

capacity to stand, walk, or sit six hours in an eight-hour workday, she could perform

work at least at the medium exertional level, and her inability to tolerate humidity did

not erode her job base at the medium or light exertional levels. Thus, she could

perform her past relevant work as a mental-health technician, and she could perform

the light job a vocational expert had identified in response to a hypothetical the ALJ

had posed at the hearing. 

Lewis-Leavy first argues that the ALJ should have applied the medicalimprovement standard, which is the standard for determining, after an award of

benefits, if a claimant’s disability has continued or ceased. See 20 C.F.R.

§§ 404.1594(a), (f); 416.994(a), (b)(5) (2003). We agree with Lewis-Leavy that the

medical-improvement standard applied here, but reading the ALJ’s opinion as a

whole, we find that he made the requisite findings. See Dixon, 324 F.3d at 1000-01

(discussing sequential analysis in continuing-disability-review process). 

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We also reject Lewis-Leavy’s challenge to the ALJ’s credibility findings, as the

ALJ gave multiple valid reasons for finding Lewis-Leavy and her witness not entirely

credible. See Gregg v. Barnhart, 354 F.3d 710, 713-14 (8th Cir. 2003). We find no

merit in Lewis-Leavy’s remaining arguments: the ALJ’s opinion reflects that he

considered her impairments in combination, see Hajek v. Shalala, 30 F. 3d 89, 92 (8th

Cir. 1994); and at the hearing Lewis-Leavy requested only a consultative examination

for her hidradenitis suppurativa (which was obtained) without indicating a need for

a mental health assessment, and the record sufficiently supports the ALJ’s conclusion

that Lewis-Leavy’s depression was not severe, see Haley v. Massanari, 258 F.3d 742,

749-50 (8th Cir. 2001) (ALJ may issue decision without obtaining additional

evidence if existing evidence provides sufficient basis for decision). 

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court. 

______________________________

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