2005 D e c i sion s O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Third C ircuit 6-8-2005 

# R ich ard son v . C omm S o ci al S ecurity P re c e de nt i al or Non-P re c e de nt i al : Non-P re c e de nt i al D ocke t No . 04-3548

F o llow thi s and a ddit ion al works at : http://digit alc ommon s .l a w . vill anova . e du/thirdc ircuit_2005

Thi s de c i sion i s brought t o you for f re e and ope n a c c e s s by the O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Third C ircuit at V ill anova U nive rsity S choo l of L a

w Digit al Reposit ory

. It h as be e n a c c ept e d for inclusion in 2005 D e c i sion s by an authori z e d a dmini s trat or of V ill anova U nive rsity S choo l of L a

w Digit al Reposit ory

. F or more inform at ion, p le as e c ont a ct Be n j amin . C arl s on@l a

w . vill anova . e du . Re c omme nde d C it at ion " R ich ard s on v

. C omm S oc i al S e curity " (2005). 2005 D e cisio n s . P ape r 1045. http://digit alc ommon s .l a

w . vill anova . e du/thirdc ircuit_2005/1045NOT P RE CE DE NT I AL UN I TED STATES CO UR T OF A PP EALS F O R T H E T H IR D C IR C U IT N o. 04- 3548

F L OR E NC E RI CH AR DS ON, o n b eh alf o f M ax w ell D . R icha rdso n , III , a m ino r, A ppel l ant v. J O A NN E B. BA RN HA RT, CO M M I SS I ON ER O F S OC I AL SECU RI TY

O n A p p ea l from the U n it ed S tat es D istri ct C o u rt

fo r th e D istri ct of

D elaw are D . C . C i vi l A ct i on N o. 02- cv- 00373 ( H onor abl e K entJ or dan) Subm i tt ed Pur s uantt o T hi r d C i r cui tL A R 34. 1( a)

M ay23, 2005 B e f o re : S C IR IC A , C hi ef

Judge , A L IT O a n d R O S E N N , C i r cui tJudges ( Fi l ed June 8, 2005)

OPINI ON O F THE COURTT hi s cas e does noti ncl ude a r evi ew bythe A ppeal s C ounci l becaus e the ca s e w as 1 s el ect ed r andoml yt o t es tan expe r i m ent al , m odi fi ed di s abi l i tydet erm i nat i on pr oces s that d o e s n o ti n c l u d e s u c h r e v i e w. 2 S C IR IC A , C hi ef

Judge . P eti ti o n er F loren ce R icha rdso n , o n b eh alf o f h er so n M ax w ell D . R icha rdso n , III , appea l s the deni al of chi l d Suppl ement al Secur i tyI ncome benefi t s underT i t l e X V I of the S o c ial S e c u rityA c t. 1 I. I n February2000, Fl or ence R i char ds on fi l ed an appl i cat i on forchi l d Suppl ement al S e c u rityIn c o m e (S S I) o n b e h a lf o f h e r so n , M a x w e ll D . R ich a rd so n , III, w h o w a s b o rn in 1989. R ich a rd so n c laim e d th a t h e r so n is d isa b led b e c a u se o f A tten tio n D e f

icit Hyp e r a c t i v e Di s o r d e r( ADHD) a n d d e v e lo p m e n ta l d is a b iliti e s p re s e n t s in c e b irth . M axw el l had a l ong hi s t oryof tr eatm ent , i ncl udi ng phy s i cal , occupa t i onal , and s peec h ther apy , fordel ay s i n m ot orfunct i oni ng and del ay s i n s peec h and l anguage devel opm ent . Si nce A pr i l 1996, M axw el l has been tr eat ed forA D H D byW i l l i am H ous t on, M . D . fr om the A . I . duPontI ns t i tut e. M axw el l ’ s A D H D i s m anage d thr ough m e d ica tio n , initia llyR italin a n d c u rre n tly , A d d e ra ll . R i char ds on’ s i ni t i al appl i cat i on w as deni ed byan admi ni s tr at i ve l aw j udge w ho d e ter m in e d th a t M a x w e ll’s im p a irm e n ts d idn o t m e e t, m e d ica llye q u a l, orf u n c tio n a lly eq u al th e se v erityo f th e a p p li ca b le i m p airm en ts. T h e d istri ct co u rtaf firm ed the A L J’s o rde r th at M ax w ell w as n o t entit led to ch il d ’s S S I.3 II. W e exe r ci s e j ur i s di ct i on overthe D i s tr i ctC ourt ’ s gr antof s um m aryj udgm ent u n d e r 2 8 U .S .C . § 1291. We e mp l o ya s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e s t a n d a r d t o r e v i e w a C om m i s s i oner ’ s fi nal deni al of bene fi t s . Subst ant i al evi dence i s defi ned as “s uch r el evant evi dence as a r eas onabl e mi nd m i ghtacc eptas adequa t e t o s upporta conc l us i on. ” Mor ales v. Apf

el , 225 F. 3d 310, 316 ( 3d C i r . 2000) ( quot i ng P lum m erv. Apf el , 186 F. 3d 4 2 2 , 4 2 2 (3d C ir . 1 9 9 9 )). H o w ev er, w e h av e the “re sp o n sibil ityto sc ruti n ize the en ti re r ecor d and t o r ever s e orr emand i f the [Com m i s s i oner ] ’ s deci s i on i s nots upport ed by s ubs t ant i al evi dence . ” Mor ales , 225 F. 3d at317 ( quot i ng Sm i th v. C al i f ano , 637 F. 2d 9 6 8 , 9 7 0 (3d C ir . 1 9 8 1 )). III . Fora chi l d underthe age of 18 t o be cons i der ed di s abl ed and e l i gi bl e forSSI unde r the Soci al Secur i tyA ct , he ors he musthave a“medi cal l ydet erm i nabl e phy s i cal orm ent al i m pai rm ent , w hi ch r es ul t s i n m arked and s ever e func t i onal l i m i t at i ons , and w hi ch ca n be expec t ed t o r es ul ti n death orw hi ch has l as t ed orcan be expec t ed t o l as tfora cont i nuous per i od of notl es s than 12 mont hs . ” 42 U . S. C . § 1382c ( a) ( 3) ( C ) ( i ) ( 2004) . T he R eg u lat ion s o u tl ine a three -st ep seq u en ti al ev alua ti o n p roc ess to d eterm ine a ch il d ’s el i gi bi l i tyforSSI. 20 C . F. R . § 416. 924 ( 2001) . U nderthi s anal y s i s , a chi l d w i l l be found di s abl ed i f he ors he i s notw orki ng orengage d i n s ubs t ant i al gai nful act i vi ty ; i f he ors he has a medi cal l ydet erm i nabl e i m pai rm entorcombi nat i on of i m pai rm ent s thati s s ever e;4

and i f the i m pai rm ent ( s ) m eet s , m edi cal l yequal s , orfunct i onal l yequal s the s ever i tyof i m pai rm ent s l i s t ed i n 20 C . F. R . § 404, s ubpt . P, app. 1 ( 2004) . Foran i m pai rm entt o be funct i onal l yequal i n s ever i ty , a chi l d m us ts how “marked” l i m i t at i ons i n tw o dom ai ns of f u n c tio n in g o r “ e x tr e m e ” lim ita tio n in o n e d o m a in . 2 0 C .F .R . § 4 1 6 .9 2 6 a (a ) ( 2 0 0 5 ). T he s i x devel opm entand func t i oni ng dom ai ns i ncl ude: acqui r i ng and us i ng i nform at i on; att endi ng t o and compl et i ng t as ks ; i nt er act i ng and r el at i ng w i th other s ; m ovi ng aboutand m a n ip u la tin g o b

je c ts ; c a ri n g f

o r o n e s e lf; a n d h e a lth a n d p h y s ic a l w e ll- b e in g . 2 0 C .F .R . § 4 1 6 . 9 2 6 a (b ) (1) (i ) - ( v i) (20 0 5 ). If the re is sub stan ti al ev iden ce in the rec o rd to su p p o rtthe C o m m issi o n er’s f in d in g s , w e a re b o u n d b ys u c h d e te rm in a tio n . Mor ales , 225 F. 3d 310 at316. E vi dence is n o t su b sta n tial if

th e C o m m iss io n e r f

a iled to c o n sid e r a ll rele v a n t ev id e n c e o r f a iled to r es ol ve conf

l i ct s cr eat ed bycount ervai l i ng evi dence , part i cul ar l ythatof a tr eat i ng p h y s ic ia n . Id . at317. I n al l di s abi l i tydet erm i nat i ons , evi dence offe r ed bya tr eat i ng p h y s ic ia n m u s t b e a c c o rd e d g re a t w e ig h t. Id . A n A L J i s al l ow ed t o r ej ecta tr eat i ng phy s i ci an’ s concl us i ons s o l ong as the r ej ect i on i s bas ed on otherm edi cal evi dence , not o n p e rs o n a l in f

e re n c e s o r s p e c u la tio n . Id . a t 3 1 7 -1 8 . T h e A L J m u st c o n sid e r m u lti p le im p a irm e n ts in c o m b in a tio n if n o n e a lo n e q u a lifie s a s a listed im p a irm e n t o r its e q u iv a le n t. B urnet tv. C om m is s i oner , 2 2 0 F . 3 d 1 1 2 , 1 2 2 (3d C ir . 2 0 0 0 ).Som e ment i on i s m ade i n the r ecor d aboutw hetherM axw el l has cer ebr al pal s ybas ed 2 on a medi cal not at i on fr om D r . Fr ed A . Fow dur i ng M axw el l ’ s vi s i tt o the emer gency roo m w h en h e p u t his arm thro u g h d o o r glass a n d su b seq u en t no tat ion s fro m D r. R a ym o n d E . D a h l a n d D r. S u k e n A . S h a h f ro m th e D e p a rt m e n t o f

O rth o p a e d ic s . H ow ever , s i nce ther e i s no s ubs t ant i al m edi calevi dence and no conc l us i ve di agnos i s of cer ebr al pal s ybya neur ol ogi s t , the A L J concl uded thatM axw el l had notbeen di agnos ed w i th cer ebr al pal s y . A ddi t i onal l y , M axw el l had as thm a, buti tw as notr ai s ed as m at er i al t o hi s di s abi l i tynorhas hi s as thm a r es ul t ed i n anyhos pi t al i zat i ons orfr equentm edi cal vi s i t s dur i ng the pr evi ous y earcons i der ed bythe A L J . T he A L J found bas ed on medi cal evi dence thatM axw el l ’ s as thm a w as eff ect i vel ycontr ol l ed thr ough the us e of I nt al and di d notcons t i tut e a s ever e l i m i t at i on. 5 I V. A ts t eps one and tw o of the di s abi l i tyanal y s i s , the A L J found thatM axw el l , then a s e v e n th - g r a d e r , wa s n o two rk i n g o re n g a g e d i n s u b s t a n t i a l a c t i v i tya n d th a th i s ADHD, l earni ng di s abi l i t i es , and deve l opm ent al del ay s qual i fi ed as s ever e bec aus e theycaus ed “more than mi ni m al funct i onal l i m i t at i ons . ” H ow ever , ats t ep thr ee, the A L J det erm i ned th a t M a x w e ll’s d isa b ili ties f a iled to m e e t o r m e d ica llyo r f u n c tio n a llye q u a l th e se v e rity of the l i st ed im pairm ents . 2 T h e A L J’s d e taile d o p in io n d e m o n stra tes th a t h e c o n sid e re d M a x w e ll’s d isa b ili ty i n l i ghtof hi s s peci al educa t i on pl ace m entand hi s m edi cat i on. T he fa ctthatM axw el l w as in s p e c ia l e d u c a tio n d o e s n o t in its e lf c o n s titu te a s ta tu to ry d is a b ility. See 2 0 C .F .R . § 416. 924a ( b) ( 7) ( 2005) ( s t at i ng that“The fac tthaty ou do ordo notr ece i ve s peci al educa t i on s ervi ces does not , i n i t s el f, es t abl i s h . . . actual l i m i t at i ons orabi l i t i es . ”) . T he A L J f o u n d th a tM a x w e l l ’ s m e d i c a t i o n , w h e n m o n i t o r e d a n d a d m i n i s t e r e d p r o p e r l y, a d e q u a telyc o n tro lled h is d isa b ili tya n d d e ter m in e d th a t an ylim itatio n s th a t p e rsis ted d id6

notcr eat e marked i natt ent i on, hyper act i vi ty , orhyper act i vi tyas out l i ned i n eval uat i ons a n d re p o rt s f

ro m e v a lu a tin g p ro f

e s s io n a ls . See 20 C . F. R . § 416. 924 ( b) ( 9) ( i ) ( A ) ( 2005) (re q u irin g c o n sid e ra tio n o f “ f u n c tio n a l li m itatio n s th a t m a yn e v e rth e les s p e rsis t, ev e n if th e re is im p ro v e m e n t f

ro m th e m e d ic a tio n s .” ). See al s o 20 C . F. R . pt . 404, s ubtp. P, app. 1 § 1 1 2 . 1 1 (l ist ing the re q u ir ed crit eria fo r A D H D ). T he A L J bas ed hi s det erm i nat i on on tr eatm entnot es of tr eat i ng phy s i ci an, W i l l i am H ous t on, M . D . , hi s fi nal l ett erur gi ng the A L J t o fi nd M axw el l di s abl ed, and evi dence f r o m M a x wel l ’ s t e a c h e r s a n d o th e re x a mi n i n g p h y s i c i a n s a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l s . Th e ALJ d ec li n ed to as sign co n tr o ll ing w eigh t t o D r. H o u ston ’s fina l l ett er in li g h t of sev era l y ea rs of tr eatm entnot es i ndi cat i ng thatM axw el l ’ s A D H D w as gener al l yundercontr ol w hen tak in g m e d ica tio n a n d th a t lap se s in p ro g re ss h a d b e e n tre a ted w ith a d ju stm e n ts in m e d ic a tio n b ra n d a n d d o s a g e . T he A L J al s o cons i der ed a r eportfr om D r . Patr i ci a Li fr ak, the s t at e age ncy cons ul t ant , w ho r evi ew ed M axw el l ’ s r ecor d and det erm i ned thathe exhi bi t ed no marked b eh av ior p rob lem s at h o m e a n d that A d d era ll h elpe d h im fo cu s an d co m p let e task s. D r. L i fr ak not ed M axw el l ’ s l ow aver age t o bor der l i ne func t i oni ng w i th a norm al att ent i on sp a n a n d f

o u n d little e v id e n c e o f

h yp e ra c tiv ityo r a n x iety . D r. L if ra kf o u n d M a x w e ll t o b e s o c ia b le a n d a g re e a b le to p e e rs , te a c h e rs , a n d o th e r a d u lts w ith w h o m h e h a d c o n ta c t. D r. L if ra kn o te dth a t M a x w e ll’ s m o th e r r e p o rt e d f e w b e h a v io ra l p ro b le m s a t h o m e . AF o rth e s a k e o f c l a r i ty , we n o t e th a tDr . P a tr i c i a L i f r a ka n d Dr . I . L . L i f

r a ka r e two 3 d if f e re n t p e o p le, w h o p e rf

o rm e d se p a ra te e v a lu a tio n s o f M a x w e ll. M s. G rie b -G in n f

o u n d M a x w e ll t o h a v e m o d e ra te to m o d e ra te/s e v e re d e lays in 4 r e c e p t i v e / e x p r e s s i v e v o c a b u l a ry a n d l a n g u a g e r e s p e c t i v e l y. 7 re p o rt f ro m D r. I.L . L if

ra k d e ter m in e d th a t M a x w e ll w a s w ith in th e n o rm a l ra n g e f o r a ll 3 phy s i cal as pect s of func t i oni ng. T he A L J al s o r el i ed on a r eportbyH ei di G r i eb- G i nn, M .S ., a sp e e c h /lan g u a g e p a th o lo g ist, w h o d e ter m in e d th a t M a x w e ll’s o ra l m o to r sk ill s a n d a rticu latio n w e re w ith in f u n c tio n a l li m its a n d th a t h e p e rf o rm e d tas k s w ith little as s i s t ance . Fi nal l y , the A L J cons i der ed the r eport s of tw o s t at e age ncyps y chol ogi cal

4 cons ul t ant s w ho ul t i m at el yconcl uded thatM axw el l ’ s l i m i t at i ons di d notm eetthe s t a tu t o ry r e q u i r e m e n t s o f s e v e r i ty. M axw el l ’ s s chool r eport s r efl ect ed hi s aca demi c di ffi cul t i es and oft en bel ow gr ade lev e ls b u t sh o w e d c o n sis ten tlya v e ra g e p e rf o rm a n c e s in m o st s u b

jec ts in c lu d in g h is m ai ns tr eam artcl as s es . T he A L J concl uded that , w i th the exc ept i on of one qua rt eri n the s eventh gr ade, aca demi c r eport s r ecogni zed M axw el l ’ s l i m i t at i ons and s peci al educa t i onal placem ent and w ere i nd i cat i ve o f his gen eral abil i tyt o fu ncti on . M axw el l ’s t eache rs , M s. W i l l i ams and M r . H endel , both i ndi cat ed thatM axw el l ’ s s chol as t i c per form ance w as b e lo w g ra d e , b u t n e ith e r te a c h e r f o u n d h im to b e a d isc ip lin e p ro b lem n o r u n a b le to compl et e mostt as ks . T he A L J cons i der ed M r . H endel ’ s fi nal l ett er , w hi ch s ugges t ed M a x w e ll h a d m a rk e d lim itatio n s, b u t af f o rd e d th e c o n tem p o ra n e o u slyw ritten re p o rts m o re w e ig h t.8

T he A L J al s o cons i der ed the t es t i m onyand r eport s of Fl or ence R i char ds on, M a x w e ll’s m o th e r. T h e A L J c o n c lu d e d th a t th e re p o rts w e re g e n e ra llyc o n sis ten t in f i n d i n g th a tM a x w e l l h a s f u n c t i o n a l l i m i t a t i o n s b u tth a tw i th a p p r o p r i a t e d ru g th e r a p y, M a x wel l r e ma i n e d f

o c u s e d , a b l e t o c o mpl e t e t a s k s , a n d g e n e r a l l ywel l - b e h a v e d . Th e ALJ f o u n d th a t re p o rte d d e v iatio n s in M a x w e ll’s a p p ro p ria te b e h a v io r w e re c o n sis ten t w ith behavi orof otherchi l dr en hi s age. Fur therm or e, the A L J found thatM axw el l s oci al i zed w i th atl eas tthr ee f

r i ends and appr opr i at el yengage d i n dr i bbl i ng a bas ketbal l , pl ay i ng vi deo games , and w at chi ng t el evi s i on. T he A L J focus ed hi s anal y s i s on w hetherM axw el l ’ s combi ned condi t i ons funct i onal l yequal ed a l i s t ed i m pai rm ent . O nl ythe A L J ’ s fi ndi ngs i n dom ai ns one ( acqui r i ng and us i ng i nform at i on) , tw o ( att endi ng t o and compl et i ng t as ks ) , thr ee ( i nt er act i ng and r el at i ng w i th other s ) , and fi ve ( car i ng forones el f) have be en r ai s ed on a p p e a l.T h e A L J d idn o t d isp u te th a t M a x w e ll’s le a rn in g d isa b ili tyim p a ire d h is a b ili tyto acqui r e and us e i nform at i on. H ow ever , the A L J found bas ed on ques t i onnai r es by M axw el l ’ s t eac her s , aca demi c pr ogr es s r eport s , and conc l us i ons of eva l uat i ng pr ofes s i onal s , thati n s pi t e of hi s l i m i t at i ons , M axw el l demonstr at ed pr ogr es s i n l earni ng a n d o b t a i n i n g k n o wl e d g e . Th e ALJc o n c l u d e d th a tM a x we l l d i d n o te x h i b i ta n e x tr e me orm arked l i m i t at i on i n thi s dom ai n.9

In d o m ain tw o , the A L J reli ed o n the s am e inf o rm ati o n fro m M ax w ell ’s t ea ch ers and eva l uat i ng pr ofes s i onal s t o concl ude thatM axw el l coul d r emai n focus ed and c o m p lete tas k s e sp e c iallyw h e n h e to o kh is m e d ica tio n a s p re sc rib e d . M a x w e ll’s f if th g ra d e te a c h e r a s s e s s e d M a x w e ll’ s a b ility to c o m p le te ta s k s a t o n e h u n d re d p e rc e n t. T aken a s a w hol e, ther e i s s ubs t ant i al evi dence t o s upportthe A L J ’ s concl us i on that M axw el l di d nothave am arked orextr eme l i m i t at i on i n dom ai n tw o. D o m a in th re e m e a s u re s a c h ild ’s a b ility to in te ra c t a n d re la te to o th e rs . T h ro u g h o u t all re p o rts f ro m M a x w e ll’s te a c h e rs, e v a lu a tin g p ro f e ss io n a ls, a n d h is m o th e r, M a x w e ll w a s m o s t o f te n d e s c ri b e d a s o u tg o in g , c o o p e ra tiv e , s o c ia l, a n d h a p p y . M a x w e ll h a d lim itatio n s in h is la n g u a g e d e v e lo p m e n t, bu t b a se d o n th e re c o rd , the re is su b sta n tial e v id e n c e to sh o w th a t M a x w e ll d idn o t h a v e m a rk e d o r e x tre m e lim itatio n s in thi s dom ai n. T he A L J concl uded thati n dom ai n fi ve, car i ng forones el f, M axw el l pos s es s ed the sa m e a b ili tya s m o st b o y s h is a g e w h o m u st b e re m in d e d to b a th e o r p e rf o rm h o u se h o ld c h o re s. D r. P a tricia L if ra ka lso n o ted in h e r re p o rt th a t M a x w e ll p o ss e ss e d th e a b ili tyto adequa t el yaddr es s hi s dai l yneeds . T he r ecor d demonstr at es s ubs t ant i al evi dence that M axw el l di d nothave marked orextr eme l i m i t at i ons i n thi s dom ai n. V. F o r th e re a so n s s e t f

o rth a b o v e , w e w ill a f

f irm th e ju d g m e n t o f

th e D istric t C o u rt.