Jeffrey Benton, on Behalf of Lynn Benton v. Jo Anne B. Barnhart, Commissioner of Social Security

Jeffrey Benton, on behalf of his deceased wife Lynn Benton (“Benton”), appeals the district court’s affirmance of the Commissioner’s denial of her claim for Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits. An Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) found that Benton was not mentally disabled. In doing so, he refused to credit the opinion of Benton’s psychiatrist as her treating physician. The ALJ instead relied upon the opinion of a psychiatrist who examined Benton once at the behest of the state of California. According to a testifying vocational expert, the absence or presence of mental disability was the difference, between Benton’s being able to perform her past relevant work or not. Because we conclude that the ALJ misapplied 20 C.F.R. § 404.1502 , the regulation that addresses the definition of “treating source,” we reverse the district court, vacate the ruling of the Commissioner and remand.

BACKGROUND

A. PROCEDURAL TIMELINE

Benton pursued her claim for disability through the administrative process, appealing the denial to the district court on December 20, 2000. Benton died from the effects of a nasopharyngeal carcinoma on July 25, 2001; this condition was unrelated to…