Lance Rhoades v. Andrew Saul ( 2020 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MAR 27 2020
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
LANCE RICHARD RHOADES, No. 18-16945
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 2:16-cv-02544-DMC
v.
MEMORANDUM*
ANDREW SAUL, Commissioner of
Social Security,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of California,
Dennis M. Cota, Magistrate Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted March 5, 2020
San Francisco, CA
Before: WARDLAW, M. SMITH, and BUMATAY, Circuit Judges.
Lance Rhoades appeals the district court’s order affirming the Commissioner
of Social Security’s decision to deny him disability benefits. We have jurisdiction
under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
1. Substantial evidence supports the administrative law judge’s (“ALJ”)
conclusion that Rhoades retained the residual functional capacity to perform
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
medium work despite his impairments on both shoulders. For example, Dr. Kristof
Siciarz, the consultative examining physician, found that Rhoades—though limited
by his right shoulder—could sit for eight hours a day, could handle objects with
both hands, had full use of his fingers, and could occasionally lift and carry fifty
pounds. The ALJ properly gave Dr. Siciarz’s opinion, which was supported by
Rhoades’s medical record and other medical opinions, “substantial weight,”
ultimately concluding that Rhoades was not disabled. Contrary to Rhoades’s
argument, the ALJ did not fail to resolve a conflict between the opinions of his
treating physician, Dr. Norman Verhoog, and those of Dr. Siciarz. Nothing in Dr.
Verhoog’s treatment notes contradicts the ALJ’s findings.
2. In denying Rhoades’s disability claim, the ALJ discounted his
subjective complaints of pain and functional limitations. The ALJ had sufficient
reason to do so. For example, the ALJ noted Rhoades’s inconsistent statements
about the range and type of activities he could perform and that Rhoades’s
purported functional limitations were out of proportion to objective medical
findings. The ALJ also rejected testimony from Rhoades’s family members and
his best friend for largely the same reasons. See Molina v. Astrue, 674 F.3d 1104,
1114 (9th Cir. 2012) (“[I]f the ALJ gives germane reasons for rejecting testimony
by one witness, the ALJ need only point to those reasons when rejecting similar
testimony by a different witness.”).
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3. Substantial evidence also supports the ALJ’s findings regarding
Rhoades’s mental capacity and right-hand limitations. The ALJ cited specific
evidence—among other things, that Rhoades could perform detailed and complex
tasks and accept instruction from supervisors—that supported the conclusion that
Rhoades’s mental functioning was normal. With respect to his right hand, Dr.
Siciarz noted that Rhoades was expected to have good improvement and had finger
movement after his carpal tunnel surgery, a determination supported by Dr.
Verhoog’s finding that the surgery included no complications, surgical failures, or
conditions limiting improvement. Rhoades points to nothing in the record that
contradicts this evidence.
4. The ALJ also did not err in framing hypothetical questions to the
vocational expert. As noted above, the ALJ appropriately discounted Rhoades’s
subjective complaints of chronic pain. The ALJ, therefore, was not required to
pose hypothetical limitations based on those complaints. See Rollins v. Massanari,
261 F.3d 853, 857 (9th Cir. 2001) (holding that the ALJ did not err in omitting
limitations that claimant had asserted but had failed to prove).
5. Finally, Rhoades challenges the district court’s refusal to remand his
case to the ALJ for consideration of new evidence. Rhoades seeks consideration of
(1) a July 27, 2016 MRI of his right shoulder and (2) an October 21, 2016
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evaluation of that MRI. These reports post-date the ALJ’s final disability hearing
on April 7, 2016 by more than three months.
New evidence warrants remand to the ALJ for further proceedings where the
evidence is (1) material and (2) there exists good cause for its late submission. 42
U.S.C. § 405. To be material, the new evidence must be “probative of [the
claimant’s] condition as it existed . . . at or before the disability hearing.” Sanchez
v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 812 F.2d 509, 511 (9th Cir. 1987).
We agree with the district court that Rhoades failed to show that the two
reports were material. Rhoades confirmed at oral argument that the new MRI
report contained at least one brand new injury since his disability hearing and that
the new injury could be the subject of a new benefits claim. The new evidence is,
therefore, not probative of the claimant’s condition “as it existed . . . at or before”
the April 2016 administrative hearing. Id.AFFIRMED.
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