Robert Febach v. Carolyn W. Colvin

MEMORANDUM

Robert L. Febach appeals the district court’s order affirming the Social Security Commissioner’s denial of his application for disability insurance benefits. We affirm.

(1) The Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) provided “persuasive, specific, valid” reasons for giving limited weight to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) determination that Febach has a 20% disability rating for depression. McCartey v. Massanari, 298 F.3d 1072, 1076 (9th Cir. 2002). Although Febach was diagnosed with depression, that diagnosis alone is insufficient for finding a “severe” impairment, as required by the social security regulations. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520 (a)(4)(ii). There was sufficient evidence in the record for the ALJ to conclude that Febach’s depression is not “severe,” including reports by at least three of Febach’s physicians suggesting that his impairment is “non-severe!”

(2) Substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s adverse credibility determination. Most notably, the fact that Febach spent ninety days bow hunting in the year prior to his ALJ hearing supported the ALJ’s conclusion that Febach’s “statements concerning the intensity, persistence and limiting effects of [his]…