Source: http://ny.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20130820_0000749.WNY.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-04-27 01:40:41
Document Index: 263864056

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 405', '§ 405', '§ 423', '§ 423', '§ 404', '§ 404', '§ 404', '§ 416']

| Kunkel v. Commissioner of Social Security
Kunkel v. Commissioner of Social Security
LYNN KUNKEL, Plaintiff,v.COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant.
Howard D. Olinsky, Esq., Karen S. Southwick, Esq., Olinsky & Shurtliff, LLP, Syracuse, New York, For the Plaintiff.
This is an action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) to review the final determination of the Commissioner of Social Security ("Commissioner" or "Defendant"), denying the application of Lynn Kunkel ("Plaintiff") for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and Supplemental Security Income benefits. Now before the Court is Plaintiff's motion (Docket No. [#7] for judgment on the pleadings and Defendant's cross-motion [#13] for judgment on the pleadings. Plaintiff's motion is denied, Defendant's motion is granted and this matter is dismissed.
42 U.S.C. § 405(g) states, in relevant part, that "[t]he findings of the Commissioner of Social security as to any fact, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive." The issue to be determined by this Court is whether the Commissioner's conclusions "are supported by substantial evidence in the record as a whole or are based on an erroneous legal standard." Schaal v. Apfel, 134 F.3d 496, 501 (2d Cir. 1998). Substantial evidence is defined as "more than a mere scintilla, " and "means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Id. For purposes of the Social Security Act, disability is the "inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months." 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(1)(A); Schaal, 134 F.3d at 501.
Pertinent to the instant case, however, "[a]n individual shall not be considered to be disabled... if alcoholism or drug addiction would... be a contributing factor material to the Commissioner's determination that the individual is disabled." 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(2)(C). If the ALJ finds that the claimant is disabled and that there is evidence of drug addiction or alcohol abuse, the ALJ must further "determine whether [such] drug addiction or alcoholism is a contributing factor material to the determination of disability." 20 C.F.R. § 404.1535(a). In that regard, the Commissioner's regulations state:
20 CFR § 404.1535(b).
20 C.F.R. § 404.1529(c)(3); 20 C.F.R. § 416.929(c)(3). However, "[f]ailure to expressly consider every factor set forth in the regulations is not grounds for remand where the reasons for the ALJ's determination of credibility are sufficiently specific to conclude that he considered the entire evidentiary record in arriving at his determination." Wischoff v. Astrue, No. 08-CV-6367 MAT, 2010 WL 1543849 at *7 (W.D.N.Y. Apr. 16, 2010) (emphasis added; citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
PLAINTIFF'S VOCATIONAL HISTORY
Plaintiff was forty years of age at the time of the hearing before the ALJ. (Tr. 66). Plaintiff attended high school through the eleventh grade. Plaintiff's employment history consists of work as a waitress and as a custodian in a public library. Specifically, Plaintiff worked at the City of Rochester's Central Library. (Tr. 66). Strangely, at the hearing before the ALJ, Plaintiff indicated that she stopped working at the library because it was torn down:
Q. And why'd you leave that job?
A. The building no longer stands. They laid everybody off.
Q. So they tore down the library?
A. Yes. I would be late a lot also.
A. So they didn't - I would be late a lot also so they wouldn't - they couldn't count on me.
(Tr. 67). The Court takes judicial notice of the fact that the Rochester Central Library is still operating ...