Court Opinion

ID: 9960729
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-16 21:00:55.389459+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:19:48.383741
License: Public Domain

USCA4 Appeal: 23-1446      Doc: 26         Filed: 04/15/2024     Pg: 1 of 3

                                             UNPUBLISHED

                               UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                   FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

                                               No. 23-1446

        KIMBERLY ABLES,

                             Plaintiff - Appellant,

                     v.

        COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY,

                             Defendant - Appellee.

        Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at
        Wheeling. John Preston Bailey, District Judge. (5:22-cv-00102-JPB-MJA)

        Submitted: April 11, 2024                                         Decided: April 15, 2024

        Before AGEE and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges, and FLOYD, Senior Circuit Judge.

        Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

        ON BRIEF: Dana W. Duncan, DUNCAN DISABILITY LAW, S.C., Nekoosa,
        Wisconsin, for Appellant. William Ihlenfeld, United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE
        UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Wheeling, West Virginia; Brian C. O’Donnell,
        Associate General Counsel, David N. Mervis, Senior Attorney, Paul B. Waxler, Special
        Assistant United States Attorney, Office of Program Litigation, Office of the General
        Counsel, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.

        Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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        PER CURIAM:

               Kimberly Ables appeals the district court’s order accepting the recommendation of

        the magistrate judge and upholding the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) denial of Ables’

        applications for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income. “In social

        security proceedings, a court of appeals applies the same standard of review as does the

        district court. That is, a reviewing court must uphold the determination when an ALJ has

        applied correct legal standards and the ALJ’s factual findings are supported by substantial

        evidence.” Brown v. Comm’r Soc. Sec. Admin., 873 F.3d 251, 267 (4th Cir. 2017) (cleaned

        up). “Substantial evidence is that which a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to

        support a conclusion. It consists of more than a mere scintilla of evidence but may be less

        than a preponderance.” Pearson v. Colvin, 810 F.3d 204, 207 (4th Cir. 2015) (cleaned up).

        “In reviewing for substantial evidence, we do not undertake to reweigh conflicting

        evidence, make credibility determinations, or substitute our judgment for that of the ALJ.

        Where conflicting evidence allows reasonable minds to differ as to whether a claimant is

        disabled, the responsibility for that decision falls on the ALJ.” Hancock v. Astrue, 667

        F.3d 470, 472 (4th Cir. 2012) (cleaned up).

               We have reviewed the record and perceive no reversible error. The record before

        the ALJ was sufficiently developed for her to render a decision, she applied the correct

        legal standards in evaluating Ables’ claims for benefits, and her factual findings are

        supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment

        upholding the denial of benefits. Ables v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., No. 5:22-cv-00102-JPB-

        MJA (N.D. W. Va. Feb. 23, 2023). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and

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        legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument

        would not aid the decisional process.

                                                                                     AFFIRMED

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