2005 Decisions

Opinions of the United

States Court of Appeals

for the Third Circuit

10-7-2005

Zurich v. Comm Social Security

Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential

Docket No. 05-1103

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 NOT PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

 

No. 05-1103 

 

JOHN T. ZURICH,

Appellant

vs.

COMMISSION OF SOCIAL SECURITY

____________

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

(D.C. Civ. No. 03-CV-05014 ) 

District Judge: Honorable Joel A. Pisano

____________

Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a)

September 30, 2005

Before: RENDELL, FUENTES and WEIS, Circuit Judges.

 (Filed: October 7, 2005)

____________

OPINION

 

WEIS, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff, now 65 years of age, applied for disability benefits under the

Social Security Act. He alleges that he suffers from hypertension, longstanding

alcoholism, liver disease, liver impairment, and obesity. On April 7, 2003, the ALJ found
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that plaintiff was capable of performing his past relevant work as a driver and security

guard and, on that basis, denied benefits.

In a comprehensive opinion reviewing the record, including the medical

reports, the District Court found that substantial evidence supported the ALJ’s decision. 

We note that as of April 8, 2003, the day after the ALJ’s ruling, plaintiff received an

award for future benefits. Consequently, the issue before us is whether plaintiff was

entitled to benefits from September 24, 2001 to April 8, 2003, the period during which he

did not receive any payments. 

We uphold the Social Security Commission’s decision to deny an

application for Social Security benefits if there is substantial evidence to support the

decision. 42 U.S.C. § 405(g); Plummer v. Apfel, 186 F.3d 422, 427 (3d Cir. 1999). The

Supreme Court has defined “substantial evidence” as “more than a mere scintilla” and as

evidence which “a reasonable mind might accept to support a conclusion.” Richardson v.

Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401 (1971) (quoting Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S.

197, 229 (1938).

As the District Court concluded in its well-reasoned opinion, there was

substantial evidence to support the Commission’s finding. As noted earlier, the Court

reviewed the record in this case very carefully. We have done so as well and see no

reason to repeat the District Court’s discussion. We agree with the denial of the

plaintiff’s application and essentially for the reasons stated in the District Court opinion,
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we will affirm.