Kenyon v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration , 544 F. App'x 765 ( 2013 )


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  •                                                                           FILED
    NOT FOR PUBLICATION                            NOV 13 2013
    MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                      U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    THOMAS KENYON,                                  No. 12-35685
    Plaintiff - Appellant,            D.C. No. 1:10-cv-01528-RE
    v.
    MEMORANDUM*
    COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL
    SECURITY ADMINISTRATION,
    Defendant - Appellee.
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the District of Oregon
    James A. Redden, Senior District Judge, Presiding
    Submitted November 7, 2013**
    Portland, Oregon
    Before: M. SMITH and HURWITZ, Circuit Judges, and PRO, Senior District
    Judge.***
    *
    This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
    except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
    **
    The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
    without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
    ***
    The Honorable Philip M. Pro, Senior District Judge for the U.S. District
    Court for the District of Nevada, sitting by designation.
    Thomas Kenyon appeals a district court judgment upholding the
    Commissioner’s denial of an application for Social Security disability insurance
    benefits. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.
    1. Any error by the administrative law judge (ALJ) in not including the
    simple one-two step instructions limitation in the hypothetical question to the
    vocational expert was harmless. The vocational expert and ALJ identified an
    occupation that Kenyon can perform—bindery-machine feeder—that exists in
    significant numbers nationally or regionally. See Tommasetti v. Astrue, 
    533 F.3d 1035
    , 1043–44 (9th Cir. 2008); Barker v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 
    882 F.2d 1474
    , 1479 (9th Cir. 1989).
    2. The ALJ did not improperly reject the opinions of Kenyon’s treating
    physicians. The ALJ expressly noted that Kenyon’s physicians issued conflicting
    medical reports and reconciled those inconsistencies. See Magallanes v. Bowen,
    
    881 F.2d 747
    , 751 (9th Cir. 1989).
    3.   The ALJ considered Kenyon’s headaches when assessing residual
    functional capacity and properly discounted Kenyon’s statements about the
    limiting effect of his migraines. See Lingenfelter v. Astrue, 
    504 F.3d 1028
    , 1036
    (9th Cir. 2007); Hoopai v. Astrue, 
    499 F.3d 1071
    , 1076 (9th Cir. 2007).
    AFFIRMED.
    2