Neff

I. INTRODUCTION

19 On August 8, 2023, plaintiff Richard Michael N. filed a Complaint seeking judicial 20 review of a decision by the Commissioner of Social Security denying his application for 21 disability insurance benefits. Dkt. No. 1. On February 29, 2024, the parties filed a Joint 22 Motion for Judicial Review of the administrative law judge’s (“ALJ”) decision. Dkt. 23 No. 11. For the reasons set forth herein, the Court reverses the denial of benefits and 24 remands the case for further proceedings. 25 / / 26 / / 27 / / 28 II. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On April 12, 2021, plaintiff filed an application for disability insurance benefits alleging disability beginning on March 22, 2021. AR 165–68.1 The Commissioner denied plaintiff’s claim on July 9, 2021 (AR 91–95), and on reconsideration on August 30, 2021 (AR 102–07). On October 12, 2021, plaintiff requested a hearing before an ALJ (AR 108–09), which was held on June 14, 2022 (AR 30–61). On June 30, 2022, the ALJ issued a decision denying plaintiff’s claim. AR 10–29. On June 26, 2023, the Appeals Council denied plaintiff’s request for review, rendering the ALJ’s decision as the…