John Shannon v. Carolyn W. Colvin

MEMORANDUM

John Shannon appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment affirming the Commissioner of Social Security’s (“Commissioner”) denial of his applications for Social Security disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income benefits under Titles II and XVI the Social Security Act. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

We review de novo the district court’s decision upholding the denial of benefits. Berry v. Astrue, 622 F.3d 1228, 1231 (9th Cir.2010). We must affirm the denial of benefits unless it is based on legal error or the findings of fact are not supported by substantial evidence. Valentine v. Comm’r Soc. Sec. Admin., 574 F.3d 685, 690 (9th Cir.2009).

At step five of the sequential evaluation process, the administrative law judge (“ALJ”) concluded that Shannon could perform work that existed in significant numbers in the national economy. Shannon contends that the ALJ erred by ignoring the lay witness testimony. Although the ALJ erred by disregarding this testimony without comment, see Molina v. Astrue, 674 F.3d 1104, 1114 (9th Cir.2012), the ALJ’s error is harmless. See id. at 1121-22 (error harmless when the same…