Astrue

Williams v. Astrue

Good Law
324 F. App'x 618
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitApril 28, 2009No. 08-55116California445 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Judith Williams appeals the grant of summary judgment by the district court. The district court affirmed the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ’s) denial of Williams’s claim for Social Security Widow’s Insurance Benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act. “We may set aside a denial of benefits only if it is not supported by substantial evidence or is based on legal error.” Robbins v. Soc. Sec. Admin., 466 F.3d 880, 882 (9th Cir.2006). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

An applicant seeking widow’s insurance benefits must show that she was married for nine months prior to the wage earner’s death. See 42 U.S.C. § 402 (e); § 416(c)(1). Here, Williams was married on April 16, 2004. Williams’s husband died on January 11, 2005. The ALJ determined that Williams was not married for the required nine months by applying calendar months. The ALJ’s definition of the term “month” is reasonable. See Lagandaon v. Ashcroft, 383 F.3d 983, 990-91 (9th Cir.2004) (noting that “common law legal systems have long reckoned periods of legal significance by the calendar, not by the clock”). We therefore find that the ALJ’s determination that Williams was not…

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