Trego

MEMORANDUM **

Wilfred Trego appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Commissioner of Social Security upholding the denial of Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income under Title II and XVI of the Social Security Act. Trego argues the district court erred by finding the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ’s) denial of benefits was supported by substantial evidence. We agree with Trego, reverse the district court, and remand for calculation of benefits.

Trego first argues the ALJ erred by relying on the opinion of Dr. Burris, a non-examining physician, to reject a finding of disability when Dr. Burris’s opinion was contradicted by Trego’s treating physician, Dr. Rajan. This court has set forth the following standard for evaluating a non-examining doctor’s opinion that is contradicted by a treating doctor:

Morgan v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 169 F.3d 595, 600-01 (9th Cir.1999) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

In arguing this court should disregard Dr. Rajan’s opinion, the Commissioner relies upon the district court’s finding that Dr. Rajan’s isolated statement was expressly based on Trego’s own self-reported,…