[DO NOT PUBLISH]

IN THE UN ITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELE VENTH CIRCUIT

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ No. 1 2- 11 83 4 Non -Arg um en t Ca le nd ar

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ D.C. Dock etNo. 5 :1 1- cv -0 00 52 -TBS
PATRICK LAND, ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll Pl ai nt iff - App el lant , ve rs us COMM ISSI ONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll Defen da nt- App el le e.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ App eal fro m

th e Uni te d S ta te s Di st ric t Co urt forth e Mi dd le Dis tri ctof F lo rid a

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ (Oct ob er 2 6, 2 01 2) Befo re TJ OFLAT, MARCUS an d M ARTIN, Cir cu itJu dg es . PER CURI AM:

Case: 12-11834 Date Filed: 10/26/2012 Page: 1 of 9Patric k Lan d app eal s the di st ric t co urt’s d eci si on to affi rm th e Co m m is si on er’s d en ia l o f hi s ap pl ic at io n fo r di sabi li ty ins ur an ce b en efi ts an d
supp le m en ta l s ecu rit y

in co m e. Landarg ue s h ere t ha t the Co m m is si on er d idno t pr op erl y ass es s h is res idua l fu nc ti on al cap aci ty (RFC) an d, as a res ul t, d idno t pr op erl y form ul at e h y po th et ic al qu es ti on s fo r th e v oc at io na l ex pe rt ( VE). Inap pe al s fr om

th e d en ia l o f so ci al sec ur ity be ne fit s, we re vi ew th e ALJ’s de ci si on as t he Co m

m is si on er’s fi na l d eci si on when , as i n thi s ca se , th e ALJ de ni es be ne fit s an d the App eal s C ou nc il de ni es rev ie w. Dou gh ty v. Apfe l, 2 45 F.3 d 1 27 4, 1 27 8 (1 1t h C ir. 2 00 1) . “ W e rev ie w th e Co m m is si on er’s d eci si onto de te rm in e if

itis supp orte d b y

subs tant ia l ev id en ce an d b as edon pro pe r le ga l st an da rd s.” C rawfo rdv. Co m m ’r of So c. Sec., 3 63 F.3d11 55 , 11 58 (11 thCir
. 20 04 ) (quo ta ti onm ark s o m it te d) . “ Subs tant ia l ev id en ce i s s uc h re le va ntev id en ce as a reas on ab le pe rs on wou ldacce ptas a de qu at e to supp ort a c on cl us io n.” Hale v
. Bo wen , 83 1 F .2d10 07 , 10 11 (11 th Cir . 19 87 ). “ It i s m or e th ana sc in ti ll a, bu t l es s th ana pr ep on de ran ce.” Id . (qu ot at io n m ark s o m it te d) . Like th e d is tri ctco urt,

“ [w]e m ay

no t d eci de th e fac ts an ew, rewei gh th e ev id en ce, o r subs ti tu te ou r jud gm en t fo r th atof the Co m m is si on er.” Ph il li ps v. Ba rn ha rt, 3 57 F.3d12 32 , 12 40 n.8 (11 th Cir . 20 04 ) (quo ta ti on m ark s an d a lt erat io ns om it te d)
. Und er the So ci al Secu rity Act, a p ers onis di sabl edif h e is un ab le “ to do an y

2 Case: 12-11834 Date Filed: 10/26/2012 Page: 2 of 9subs tant ia l g ai nf ul act iv ity

by reaso n o f an y

m ed ic al ly det erm in ab le ph y si cal or m en ta l i m

pa irment wh ic h c anbe ex pe ct edto res ul t i n d eath o r whi chha s l as te d o r canbe ex pe ct edto las t fo r a co nt inuo us pe rio d o f no t l es s than 1 2 m on th s.” 2 0 C.F.R § 40 4.1 50 5( a). If d is ab le d, a c la im an t i s el ig ib le forpa ym en t o f di sabi li ty in su ran ce an d s up pl em en ta l s ecu rity in co m e. See 4 2 U.S.C. § § 4 23 (a)( 1) , 13 82 (a)( 1) ; 2 0 C .F.R. §§ 40 4.3 15 (a)( 3) , 41 6.2 02 (a)( 3)
. The So ci al Secu rit y Reg ul at io ns ou tl in e a f i v e-s te p, se qu en ti al ev al ua ti on pr oc es s us ed to de te rm in e whe th er a cl ai m an t is di sabl ed : (1 ) whe th er th e cl ai m an t is cu rren tl y en ga ge d in subs tant ia l ga in fu l act iv ity ; (2 ) whe th er th e cl ai m an t ha s a se ve r e i mp a irment or co m bi na ti on of im pa irments ; (3 ) whe th er th e im pa irment m eet s or equa ls th e se ve rit y of th e sp eci fie d im

pa irments in th e Lis ti ng of Im pa irments ; (4 ) ba se d on a [ R FC] a ss es sm en t, whe th er th e cl ai m an t can pe rfo rm an y of hi s or h e r p a s t rel ev an t work de sp it e th e im pa irment; an d (5 ) whe th er th ere ar e si g n i f i c a n t nu m

be rs of job s in th e na ti on al eco no m y th at th e cl ai m an t can pe rfo rm gi ve n th e c l a i man t’s RFC, ag e, educ at io n, an d work ex pe rie nc e. W in sc he l v . Comm ’r of So c. Sec., 6 31 F.3d11 76 , 11 78 (11 th Cir . 20 11 );
se e al so Mo or e v . Barn hart, 4 05 F.3d12 08 , 12 11 (11 thCir . 20 05 ); C .F.R. § 4 04 .15 20 (a)( 4) . “ The bu rd enis pri m ari ly on the cla im an t t o p ro ve th athe is di sabl ed , andth eref

or e en ti tl edto rece iv e So ci al Secu rit y di sabi li ty ben efi ts .” Dou gh ty, 24 5 F .3dat 1 27 8. I. Lan d a rg ue s tha t the Co m m is si on er erredat t he fou rth st ep of t he ev al ua ti on

3 Case: 12-11834 Date Filed: 10/26/2012 Page: 3 of 9pr oc es s. Ag ai n, s te p fo ur ass es se s the cla im an t’s RF C to de te rm in e whe th er the cl ai m an t i s capabl e o f pe rfo rm in g “pa strel ev an t wo rk .” 20 C.F.R. § 4 04 .15 20 (a)( 4) (iv ). A clai m an t’s RF C ta ke s i nt o a cco un t b ot h p hysic al an d
m en ta l l im it at io ns . See 2 0 C .F.R. § 4 04 .15 45 (a)( 1) . The ALJ fo un d tha t Lan d 1

“ ha s the [RFC ] to pe rfo rm li gh t wo rkas d efi ne d i n 2 0 C FR 4 04 .15 67 (b ) an d 41 6.9 67 (b ), ex cep t tha t h e can on ly occas io na ll y cli m b, b al an ce, s to op , kn eel , cro uc h, cr awl, an d re ach ov erh eadus in g h is rig htup pe r ex tre m ity .” The ALJ furth er d et erm in edth atLand“ sh ou ld
. . . av oi d c on cen tra te d e xp os ur e to he av y m ach in ery. ” Fi na ll y , th e ALJ fo un d tha t Lan d “ canpe rfo rm on ly sim pl e, ro ut in e, rep et it iv e ta sk s, wi th ou t trav el in g, u si ng nu m be rs , dri vi ng , or s up erv is in g.” Lan d a ll eg es th atth e ALJ’s RFC ass es sm en t, p art ic ul arl y th e ALJ’s fi nd in g th atLand“ canpe rfo rm

. . . si m pl e, ro ut in e, rep et it iv e ta sk s,” i s “ no t s up po rte d b y subs tant ia l ev id en ce.” He s ug ge st s tha t thi s i s s o b ecau se eachof t he do ct or s tha t ev al ua te d Lan d fo r m en ta l l im it at io ns inadvanc e o f th e ALJ’s RFC ass es sm en t de te rm in edth athe su ffer edfro m va rio us “ m en ta l h eal th im pa irments .” In pa rti cu lar, Landem

ph as iz es th aton th ei r st an da rdass es sm en t wo rk sh eet s, two

L and foc uses his appea l exclusi vely on the AL J ’s assessment of his mental limi tations. 1 He doe s not contest the AL J ’s assessment of his phy sical limitations. That being the case , any potential arguments reg ardingthe AL J ’s assessment of his phy sical limitations are wa ived and abandone d. Sepulveda v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 401 F .3d 1226, 1228 n.2 (11th Cir. 2005).

4 Case: 12-11834 Date Filed: 10/26/2012 Page: 4 of 9do ct or s— Dr. Mi ch ael Zele nk a an d Dr. Al ejan dr o Ver ga ra— ch eck edth e b ox

“ Mo de rat el y

Lim it ed ” wit h re ga rdto Land ’s “ ab il ity to co m pl et e a n orm al work
da y an d wo rkweekwitho utin te rrupt io ns fro m ps y ch ol og ic al ly bas edsym pt om s an d t o p erfo rm

at aco ns is te ntpa ce wi th ou t an un reas on ab le nu m be r an d l en gt h o f
res t p eri od s.” W e are no t p ers ua de d b y

Land ’s arg um en t b ecau se itfai ls to co ns id er “ al l th e rel ev an t m ed ic al an d o th er ev id en ce” t ha t was av ai labl e to th e ALJ. 2 0 C .F.R. § 4 04 .15 45 (a)( 3) (em

ph as is ad de d) . The So ci al Securit y Adm in is tra ti on ’s Pro gr am s Op erat io ns Man ua l Syste m (POMS ) cl ari fie s tha t the bo xe s ch eck edby Dr. Zelen kaan d Dr. Ver ga ra ar e o nl y part o f a wo rk sh eetth at“ do es no t co ns ti tu te th e [d oc to rs ’ actua l] RFC as se ss m en t.” P OMS DI § 24 51 0.0 60 (B)( 2) . Che ck in g th e b ox “ Mo de rat el y

Lim it ed ” m ean s o nl y

th atth e cl ai m an t’s capa ci ty is i m pa ire d; itdo es no t i nd ic at e th e d eg ree a ndex te ntof t he li m it at io n. Se e id
. § 2 45 10 .06 3( B)(2 ). Afterch eck in g the bo xe s as an“ ai d,” id . § 2 45 10 .06 0( B)(2 ), a do ct oris th enrequi redto de ta il hi s ac tu al RFC a ss es sm en t. Se e id
. § 2 45 10 .06 0( B)(4 ). Co ns is te ntwith the se di rect iv es , bo th Dr. Zelen kaan d Dr. Ver ga ra, aft er ch eck in g the va rio us bo xe s, el ab or at edon th ei r op in io ns reg ard in g Lan d’s ab il ity to pe rfo rm

ina work e nv iro nm en t. Dr. Zele nk a st at ed : “ [G]ive n o nl y si m pl e 5 Case: 12-11834 Date Filed: 10/26/2012 Page: 5 of 9in st r[u ct io ns ] to carry ou t, l im it edpubl ic co nt act , th e ab il ity to workrel at iv el y in de pe nd en tl y , with s om e al lo wan ces foroc cas io na l p sycho lo gi cal pro b[ le m s] affe ct in g p ro du ct iv ity , [Land ] ret ai ns ad equa te m en ta l ab il ity to carry ou t s im pl e in st r[u ct io ns ] an d t o re la te ad equa te ly to o th ers ina ro ut in e work s et ti ng [.]” (em ph as is ad de d) . Dr. Vergara ca m e to si m il ar co nc lu si on s, s ta ti ng : [Lan d] m ay

ex pe rie nc e d iff

ic ul ti es trying to carry

ou t d et ai le d in st ru ct io ns an d i f he ha s t o m ai nt ai n c on cen tra ti onforex te nd ed pe rio ds of t im e. He m ay

ha ve di ffi cu lt ie s t oo , hav in g t o re sp on d ap pr op ria te ly to i ns tru ct io ns an d c rit ic is m fro m supe rv is or s an d i f he at te m pt s t o s etreal is ti c g oa ls in de pe nd en tl y . Howev er t ak in g i n c on si de rat io n a ll th e in fo rm at io n i n fi le , lo ng itud in al hi st ory , recen t CE an d re cen tl y rep orte d ADL’s, in di cat es th at‘ cl ai m an t re ta in s the ne ces sa ry m en ta l capabi li ti es to at le as t d o s im

pl e, type t as ks an d a ss ig nm en ts .’ (em ph as is ad de d) . Thes e o pi ni on s ar e co ns is te ntwith the ALJ’s fi nd in g tha t Lan d

“ canpe rfo rm

on ly sim pl e, ro ut in e, rep et it iv e ta sk s.” W e rei te rat e th at“ [w]e m ay no t d eci de th e fac ts an ew, rewei gh th e ev id en ce, o r subs ti tu te ou r jud gm en t fo r th atof t he Co m m is si on er.” Ph il li ps , 35 7 F.3 d a t 1 24 0 n .8 (quo ta ti on m ark s an d a lt erat io ns om itte d) . As se t o utab ov e, “ we m us t d eferto th e Co m

mis si on er’s d eci si on if i t i s s up po rte d b y subs tant ia l
ev id en ce. Subs tant ia l ev id en ce i s m or e th ana sc in ti ll a, bu t l es s tha n a pr ep on de ran ce.” Id . (qu ot at io n m ark s o m it te d) . Becau se m or e th ana sc in ti ll a o f

6 Case: 12-11834 Date Filed: 10/26/2012 Page: 6 of 9ev id en ce s up po rte d the ALJ’s RFC ass es sm en t h ere, we wi ll no t s eco nd -g ue ss th e

Co m m is si on er’s d et erm in at io n. II. Lan d a ls o a rg ue s tha t the Co m mis si on er erredat s te p fi ve of t he di sabi li ty ev al ua ti onpro ces s. At s te p fi ve th e cl ai m an t h as pro ve d tha t h e can no lo ng er pe rfo rm hi s p as t re le va ntworkan d “ th e b ur de n s hi fts to th e Co m m is si on er t o sh ow the ex is te nc e o f othe r job s i n the nati on al eco no m y whi ch , gi ve n the cl ai m an t’s i m

pa irments , th e cl ai m an t ca n p erfo rm .” Jo ne s v . Apfe l, 1 90 F.3d 12 24 , 12 28 (11 th Cir . 19 99 ) (quo ta ti on m ark s o m it te d) . The ALJ m ay rel y so le ly
on th e te st im on y

of aVE to m eetth is bu rd en . Id. at12 30 . For t he tes ti m on y of a VE to co ns ti tu te subs tant ia l ev id en ce, h owe ve r, “ th e ALJ m us t p os e a h y

po th et ic al qu es ti on whi chco m

pr is es all of t he cla im an t’s i m pa irments .” Id . at 1 22 9. Lan d a ll eg es th atth e “ ALJ . . . fail edto askhypo th et ic al qu es ti on s t o the [VE] th atin cl ud edall of . . . Land ’s [m ]ent al [RFC ] li m it at io ns .” Here, atth e as se ss m en t h eari ng , th e ALJ as ke d the VE whethe r a h y po th et ic al in di vi du al co ul d pe rfo rm othe r work i n the na ti on al eco no m y if tha t i nd iv idua l wer e o f Lan d’s ag e, educ at io n, an d wo rkex pe rie nc e, ha d the same ph y si cal li mit at io ns , andwas

“ cap ab le ba se d upo n Ex hi bi t B- 13 F [the m en ta l RF C as se ss m en t co m pl et edby D r. Verg ara] of p erfo rm in g s im pl e, ro ut in e, rep et it iv e ta sk s.” Th e VE res po nd edin

7 Case: 12-11834 Date Filed: 10/26/2012 Page: 7 of 9th e aff

irmativ e, an d i de nt ifi edothe r job s ex is ti ng insi gn ifi can t num be rs th atLand
co ul d p erfo rm , sp eci fic al ly “ th atof a n o ffi ce h el pe r . . . [or] a ti ck etsel le r.” The ALJ the n a sk edth e VE if tha t h y po th et ic al in di vi du al co ul d s ti ll pe rfo rm th os e job s i f “be cau se of s tre ss ,” th e in di vi du al “ sh ou lddo no tra ve li ng ,” “ sh ou ldn’t ha ve to m eetan y

qu ot as ,” an d s ho ul d n otdri ve or s up erv is e. The VE in di cat ed th atth e in di vi du al wou ldst il l b e ab le to pe rfo rm th os e job s. W e h av e h el d tha t an ALJ’s hypo th et ic al res tri ct in g the cla im an t t o s im pl e an d ro ut in e ta sk s ad equa te ly accou nt s fo r m en ta l l im it at io ns wher e th e m ed ic al
ev id en ce d em on strat es th atth e cl ai m an t re ta in s the ab il ity to pe rfo rm

th os e ta sk s de sp it e d efi ci en ci es . See Wins ch el , 63 1 F .3dat 1 18 0 (“ [W] he n m ed ic al ev id en ce de m on st rat es th ata cl ai m an t ca n e ng ag e in si m pl e, ro ut in e ta sk s o r un sk il le d wo rk de sp it e li m it at io ns inco nc en tra ti on , per si st en ce, an d p ace, c ou rts ha ve co nc lu de d th atli m it in g the hypo th et ic al to in cl ud e o nl y un sk il le d wo rk

su ffi ci en tl y

acco un ts fo r su chli m it at io ns .”). As i nd ic at edby the m en ta l RF C as se ss m en ts co m pl et edby Dr. Zelen kaan d Dr. Ver ga ra, Lan d re ta in edth e m en ta l capa ci ty to p erfo rm

“ si m pl e” t as ks de sp it e h is li m it at io ns . By li m it in g the hypo th et ic al to an in di vi du al “ cap ab le
. . . of pe rfo rm in g s im

pl e, ro ut in e, rep et it iv e ta sk s” ba se d o n Dr. Verg ara’s m en ta l RF C as se ss m en t, th e ALJ p ro pe rly inc or po rat edth e rel ev an t m ed ic al ev id en ce re ga rd in g Lan d’s m en ta l l im it at io ns . 8 Case: 12-11834 Date Filed: 10/26/2012 Page: 8 of 9Fo r th es e rea so ns , we con cl ud e th atth e Co m m is si on er’s d eci si on to de ny be ne fit s i s s up po rte d b y

subs tant ia l ev id en ce an d i s b as edup onth e p ro pe r le ga l st an da rd s. Th e Co m

mis si on er’s d eci si on is , th eref or e, AFFIRMED.

9 Case: 12-11834 Date Filed: 10/26/2012 Page: 9 of 9