Monica Contreras v. Carolyn W. Colvin

MEMORANDUM

Monica Contreras appeals the district court’s order remanding her case for further proceedings, arguing that the district court erred when in declined to remand for a calculation and award of benefits. Reviewing for abuse of discretion, Harman v. Apfel, 211 F.3d 1172, 1174 (9th Cir.2000), we reverse and remand to the district court with instructions to remand to the ALJ for an award of benefits.

1. The district court reached a number of conclusions that the Commissioner does not contest on appeal. First, the district court concluded that the ALJ failed to provide a legally sufficient reason for assigning little weight to the opinion of Dr. Abhyanker, Contreras’s treating physician. Second, the district court concluded that the ALJ erred by failing to address the opinion of Dr. Geary, an examining physician who diagnosed Contreras with numerous mild and moderate limitations. Finally, the district court concluded that the ALJ did not provide legally sufficient reasons for discrediting parts of Contreras’s testimony. As the district court noted, the vocational expert’s testimony made clear that if the ALJ had credited Geary, the ALJ would have been required to conclude…