IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 14-60801

Summary Calendar

JOE E. RUFFIN, 

 Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

CAROLYN W. COLVIN, ACTING COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL 

SECURITY, 

 Defendant - Appellee

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Mississippi

USDC No. 3:13-CV-163

Before STEWART, Chief Judge, and ELROD and HIGGINSON, Circuit 

Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Plaintiff-Appellant sought Social Security disability benefits, claiming 

he was disabled. The Defendant-Appellee denied the benefits, the Magistrate 

Judge (MJ) recommended affirming the Defendant-Appellee’s decision, and the 

 

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not 

be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH 

CIR. R. 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

July 20, 2015

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

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2

district court adopted the MJ’s Report and Recommendation (R&R). We 

affirm.

I.

Joe E. Ruffin was born on July 14, 1956, and was 55 years of age at the 

time of the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) decision. He has an eleventh 

grade education. His past relevant work experience is as a forklift operator, 

lubrication technician, auto parts salesperson, painter, and truck driver. He 

alleges he became disabled on July 1, 2006, due to low back pain, hypertension, 

and diabetes. 

Medical records indicated that Ruffin has complained of and been 

treated for low back pain since he was involved in a fork-lift accident in early 

2006.1 Following the accident, he was diagnosed with lumbar spasms by his 

treating physician, who prescribed pain medications and referred him to

physical therapy. From 2007 to 2010, Ruffin was treated for his pain by 

receiving pain management injections and began chiropractic treatment. On 

January 17, 2010, Ruffin went to the emergency room with complaints of chest 

pain and low back pain. The diagnosis was elevated systolic blood pressure 

and low back pain, and he was discharged and prescribed pain medications. 

Another chest pain episode occurred on February 18, 2011, for which he again 

visited the emergency room. At that time, Ruffin told the physician that he 

had a myocardial infarction more than ten years earlier and a subsequent 

heart catheterization. However, there was nothing in the medical records to 

corroborate this history. 

A consultative examination was performed by Dr. Garth Murray on July 

24, 2008. At the exam, Ruffin weighed 250 pounds, and his blood pressure was

170/84. Ruffin reported to Dr. Murray a history of myocardial infarction and 

 

1 All testimony of medical evidence was elicited during the ALJ’s hearings.

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chest pain. Dr. Murray noted that Ruffin walked with a cane, had significant 

difficulty getting on and off the exam table, and could remain seated for only 

five minutes at a time. 

On October 5, 2008, Dr. Louis Saddler, a non-examining consultant, 

performed an assessment of residual functional capacity. Dr. Saddler opined 

that Ruffin could lift/carry 50 pounds occasionally and 25 pounds frequently, 

that he could sit/stand for six hours in an eight-hour day, and that he could 

perform unlimited push/pull activities, including the operation of hand and/or 

foot controls, with no other limitations. 

Dr. Robert Tatum performed a consultative examination on May 8, 2010. 

Ruffin weighed 250 pounds, and his blood pressure was 143/71. Dr. Tatum 

noted that Ruffin walked slowly and with a limp, and that he had mild 

difficulty getting on and off the exam table, getting up from the chair, and 

getting undressed and dressed. Ruffin reported to Dr. Tatum that he suffered 

episodes of chest pain approximately five to ten times per month, each episode

lasting approximately ten to fifteen minutes. Dr. Tatum’s notes state that 

Ruffin had had twelve visits to the emergency room during the previous 24 

months. Dr. Tatum’s diagnosis was low back pain, bilateral leg pain (affecting 

Ruffin’s ability to stand, bend, stoop, squat, lift, reach, and push/pull), a history 

of hypertension, a history of diabetes, and chest pains from coronary disease 

likely with a history of previous myocardial infarction. Dr. Tatum opined that 

Ruffin could lift/carry less than ten pounds, could stand/walk for 

approximately two hours in an eight-hour day, could sit four hours (but only 

45 minutes without interruption), could occasionally balance, stoop, crouch, 

kneel, reach, push, and pull, and should never work at heights or near moving 

machinery. Dr. Tatum observed that Ruffin’s chest pain should be evaluated 

before he engaged in any heavy exertional activity. 

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On October 13, 2010, Dr. Saddler gave an update of his own assessment, 

stating that Ruffin’s impairments were not severe. At the supplemental 

hearing, Ruffin testified that he suffers from numbness in his right leg and 

back pain at a level of ten every day, although his medication gave him some 

relief. He also said that he suffered from lower abdominal pain as a result of

an enlarged prostate. According to Ruffin, he would not be able to work at any 

job for forty hours a week because of his pain.

A vocational expert (VE) testified concerning the exertional 

requirements of Ruffin’s past relevant jobs. According to the VE, Ruffin’s past 

jobs of forklift operator, lubrication technician, and truck driver are classified 

as medium, whereas the job of auto parts salesperson is light work. 

II.

Ruffin filed for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security 

income on January 22, 2008, and June 2, 2008, respectively, alleging an onset 

date of July 1, 2006. Ruffin’s applications were denied initially and on 

reconsideration, and he requested and was granted a hearing before an

administrative law judge (ALJ). 

After the hearing, the ALJ determined that Ruffin has the severe 

impairment of mild facet anthropathy and the nonsevere impairments of 

hypertension, enlarged prostate, and diabetes, finding that Ruffin had the 

residual functional capacity to perform the full range of medium work. In 

making that determination, the ALJ gave significant weight to the initial 

assessment of Dr. Saddler and little weight to the opinion of Dr. Tatum. He 

gave no weight to Dr. Saddler’s later statement that Ruffin had no severe 

impairment, stating that evidence submitted subsequent to that opinion 

showed additional treatment for back pain. Relying upon testimony of the VE, 

the ALJ determined that Ruffin could perform his past relevant work and was

therefore not disabled.

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Ruffin appealed, and the Appeals Council granted review and remanded 

for further proceedings. Following a supplemental hearing, the ALJ issued a 

decision on February 17, 2012, again finding that Ruffin is not disabled. The 

Appeals Council denied review, thereby making the decision of the ALJ the 

final decision of the Commissioner. Ruffin then appealed to the Southern 

District of Mississippi. The case was referred to an MJ, whose R&R 

recommended affirmance of the ALJ’s decision. Ruffin submitted several 

objections to the MJ’s R&R, but the district court, in a detailed order, adopted 

the R&R and dismissed the action with prejudice.2

III.

Our review of this appeal is limited to two issues: “(1) whether the 

Commissioner applied the proper legal standards; and (2) whether the 

Commissioner’s decision is supported by substantial evidence on the record as 

a whole.” Morris v. Shalala, 207 F.3d 744, 745 (5th Cir. 2000) (citing Paul v. 

Shalala, 29 F.3d 208, 210 (5th Cir. 1994) (citations omitted); see also 42 U.S.C. 

§ 405(g). 

Appellant’s claims hinge on the fourth inquiry in the disability analysis: 

whether the impairment prevents the claimant from doing past relevant work; 

if not, the claimant is not disabled. See 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520, 416.920. We 

hold that the Commissioner’s finding of not disabled due to Ruffin’s ability to

still perform his past relevant work is supported by substantial evidence, as 

the record contains objective medical evidence bolstering this conclusion. See 

Morris, 207 F.3d at 745. 

We AFFIRM.

 

2 In addition to filing objections to the R&R, Ruffin filed a Motion for Judgment on the 

Pleadings, followed by Defendant-Appellee’s filing of a Motion to Affirm the Decision of the 

Commissioner. The district court’s order adopting the R&R also denied Ruffin’s motion but 

granted Defendant-Appellee’s. 

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