Whitt v. Colvin, 2:12-cv-01199

Plaintiff Jeffrey Allen Whitt appealed the Commissioner’s denial of Social Security disability benefits after an ALJ found him capable of sedentary work with multiple limitations.
ALJ identified severe impairments: post-stroke status, left carpal tunnel and ulnar neuropathy, recurrent headaches, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.
ALJ’s RFC: sedentary work with restrictions (no ladders/ropes/scaffolds; limited stair/ramp climbing; frequent but not constant left-arm reaching/handling/fingering; no machine-paced or fast production work; no continuous attention >15 minutes).
A July 2011 functional capacity evaluation (FCE) found Whitt limited to four hours per day and requiring a sit-at-will option; ALJ rejected the FCE as a non-medical source and inconsistent with the record.
The Court found the ALJ failed to reconcile the rejected FCE with a November 2010 physician report that corroborated limited standing/walking stamina and left-sided neurologic findings.
The ALJ discounted Whitt’s subjective symptom testimony as only partially credible, relying on daily activities and the hearing appearance; the Court found the credibility analysis inadequate.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether ALJ properly rejected FCE limiting work to 4 hours/day	FCE is probative and consistent with medical records (Nov. 2010 report); should have been credited or meaningfully discussed	ALJ: FCE is from a non-medical source and not substantiated by the record as a whole	Court: ALJ failed to analyze and bridge the inconsistency; remand required for further consideration
Whether ALJ’s RFC assessment is supported by substantial evidence	RFC ignores evidence showing limited stamina and need for sit-at-will; thus not supported	ALJ relied on overall record and treating/consultative evidence to set RFC	Court: RFC unsupported because ALJ ignored contrary medical evidence and failed to connect record to conclusions
Whether ALJ properly evaluated claimant’s credibility	Whitt: ALJ improperly discounted subjective complaints; must consider regulatory factors beyond objective findings	Commissioner: daily activities and hearing conduct undermine credibility; objective findings do not fully substantiate severity	Court: Credibility finding insufficiently reasoned; ALJ relied on improper comparisons of daily activities to work requirements
Remedy and next steps	Remand for further proceedings and consideration of evidence before a different ALJ	Commissioner likely would prefer affirmance or limited remand	Court: Reversed and remanded under 42 U.S.C. §405(g) (sentence four) for a de novo hearing before a different ALJ

Hopgood ex rel. L.G. v. Astrue, 578 F.3d 696 (7th Cir. 2009) (standards for district court review of Commissioner s decision)
Powers v. Apfel, 207 F.3d 431 (7th Cir. 2000) (definition of substantial evidence)
Schmidt v. Apfel, 201 F.3d 970 (7th Cir. 2000) (court does not reweigh evidence)
Clifford v. Apfel, 227 F.3d 863 (7th Cir. 2000) (ALJ must build a logical bridge from evidence to conclusions)
Arnett v. Astrue, 676 F.3d 586 (7th Cir. 2012) (ALJ may not ignore lines of contrary evidence)
Knight v. Chater, 55 F.3d 309 (7th Cir. 1995) (limits on discounting subjective complaints solely for lack of objective support)
Punzio v. Astrue, 630 F.3d 704 (7th Cir. 2011) (differences between daily activities and full-time work)
Bjornson v. Astrue, 671 F.3d 640 (7th Cir. 2012) (daily activities do not establish ability to work full time)