Schultz

Order re: Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment

In this case, Plaintiff Martha Jean Schultz seeks judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (“Commissioner”) that denied Plaintiffs application for supplemental security income (“SSI”) under Title XVI of the Social Security Act. A certified copy of the administrative record (“Record”) has been filed with the Court, and the parties have filed cross-motions for summary judgment. (Dkt. Nos. 19 (“PI. MSJ”), 21 (“Def. XMSJ”), 22 (“PI. Reply”). Having carefully considered the Record and the parties’ papers, the Court Grants Plaintiffs motion, Denies the Commissioner’s cross-motion, and Remands this matter to the Social Security Administration for calculation and payment of benefits. As set forth more fully below, the administrative law judge (“ALJ”) who issued the Commissioner’s final decision improperly discredited Plaintiffs testimony concerning the intensity, persistence, and limiting effects of her gastrointestinal symptoms. That error, in turn, resulted in the ALJ’s erroneous assessment of Plaintiffs residual functional capacity, which failed to reflect *1052 all of Plaintiffs limitations. The testimony…