Kenneth Smith v. Kilolo Kijakazi

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

KENNETH E. SMITH, No. 20-35487 Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. v. 3:19-cv-05426-

JRC

KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant-Appellee. OPINION

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington J. Richard Creatura, Chief Magistrate Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted September 3, 2021 Seattle, Washington

Filed October 1, 2021

Before: Michael Daly Hawkins and M. Margaret McKeown, Circuit Judges, and Jed S. Rakoff, * District Judge.

Opinion by Judge Rakoff

* The Honorable Jed S. Rakoff, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, sitting by designation. SUMMARY **

Social Security

The panel reversed the district court’s affirmance of a 2019 decision of an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) denying a claimant’s application for Social Security disability benefits.

The panel held that the ALJ’s conclusion that claimant was not disabled at the time of the hearing was supported by substantial evidence. The panel nonetheless…