Stoner
Stoner v. Commissioner of Social Security
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Melanie Stoner appeals from the district court’s order affirming the denial of her application for Supplemental Security Income under Title XVI of the Social Security Act. We review de novo a district court’s decision and must uphold the denial of benefits if the Commissioner’s denial is supported by substantial evidence and free of legal error. Batson v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 359 F.3d 1190, 1193 (9th Cir. 2004).
I
Ms. Stoner correctly asserts that the ALJ failed to address the opinions of the nonexamining state agency physicians and failed to explain the weight he gave to their opinions. SSR 96-6p, 1996 WL 374180 at *1-2 (July 2, 1996). This error was harmless, however, because the ALJ found that Ms. Stoner had a more restrictive residual functional capacity (“RFC”) than did the state physicians.
II
Ms. Stoner contends that the ALJ erred by finding that her depression, affliction with Meniere’s Disease, as well as cervical disc disease, are not “severe” impairments. Although the ALJ did not expressly list all of the evidence that supported his findings in the same paragraph as that in which he stated his findings *361 regarding the non-severity of Ms.…