Gale Gunderson v. Michael Astrue

MEMORANDUM

Gale Gunderson appeals the district court’s judgment affirming the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of Gun-derson’s application for disability insurance benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act and for supplemental security income under Title XVI. Because the parties are familiar with the facts and procedural history of this case, we will discuss them only as necessary to explain our decision. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

First, Gunderson argues that the administrative law judge (ALJ) failed to properly adhere to the procedures and apply the “special technique” set forth in 20 C.F.R. § 404 .1520a. The “special technique” is used by “adjudicators to assess an individual’s limitations and restrictions from a mental impairment[ ] in categories identified in the ‘paragraph B’ and ‘paragraph C’ criteria of the adult mental disorders listings.” SSR 96-8p, 1996 WL 374184 , at *4; see also 20 C.F.R. pt. 404, subpt. P, app. 1, § 12.00 et seq. The “special technique” requires the adjudicator to determine whether the claimant has “a medically determinable mental impairment[ ],” 20 C.F.R. § 404 .1520a(b)(l), and if so, to “rate the degree of…