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Atkins v. Chater

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Aug 9, 1995
70 F.3d 529 (9th Cir. 1995)

Opinion

No. 94-35020.

Submitted July 14, 1995 Portland, Oregon

The panel unanimously finds this case suitable for decision without oral argument. Fed.R.App.P. 34(a) and 9th Cir. R. 34-4.

Filed August 9, 1995 Amended Order Filed October 23, 1995 Redesignated for publication by Order Filed November 22, 1995

Ralph Wilborn, Ralph Wilborn Etta L. Wilborn, P.C., Eugene, Oregon, for the plaintiff-appellant.

Richard H. Wetmore, Assistant Regional Counsel, Social Security Administration, Office of General Counsel, Seattle, Washington, for the defendant-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.

D.C. No. CV-92-01650-HJF

Before: Procter Hug, Jr. and Warren J. Ferguson, Circuit Judges, and William W Schwarzer, District Judge.

Honorable William W Schwarzer, Senior United States District Judge for the Northern District of California, sitting by designation.



We affirm the judgment entered by the district court essentially for reasons expressed in the district court's well-written opinion, Atkins v. Shalala, 837 F. Supp. 318 (D. Or. 1993). That opinion was rendered prior to our opinion in Johnson v. Shalala, 60 F.3d 1428 (9th Cir. 1995). In Johnson, we held that the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, of the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOT") provides classifications that are rebuttable by vocational experts. Id. at 1435-36. To the extent the district court's opinion in this case indicates otherwise, see 837 F. Supp. at 324, that discussion is superceded by Johnson's holding that the DOT classifications are rebuttable.

The district court was correct in concluding that the findings of the administrative law judge ("ALJ") were erroneous because the hypothetical question addressed to the vocational expert did not contain all the physical impairments suffered by the claimant. Embrey v. Bowen, 849 F.3d 418, 422-23 (9th Cir. 1988).

On remand, the ALJ's findings should take into account the rebuttable presumption of the DOT classifications and all of the impairments of the claimant.


Summaries of

Atkins v. Chater

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Aug 9, 1995
70 F.3d 529 (9th Cir. 1995)
Case details for

Atkins v. Chater

Case Details

Full title:HAROLD ATKINS, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT, v. SHIRLEY S. CHATER, COMMISSIONER OF…

Court:United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Date published: Aug 9, 1995

Citations

70 F.3d 529 (9th Cir. 1995)

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