Danny Lee Freeman v. Andrew Saul
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
O
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
DANNY LEE F., Case No. 2:19-cv-09099-KES
Plaintiff,
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND
v.
ORDER
ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, 15 Defendant.
I.
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In February 2016, Plaintiff Danny Lee F. (“Plaintiff”) applied for Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits, alleging that he became disabled on March 13, 2015. Administrative Record (“AR”) 189, 193. On February 1, 2018, the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) conducted a hearing at which Plaintiff, who was represented by a non-attorney representative, testified along with a vocational expert (“VE”). AR 33-81.
1 His previous application for benefits was denied in October 2013. AR 83, 213. 28 On October 23, 2018, the ALJ issued an unfavorable decision. AR 12-32. The ALJ found that Plaintiff suffered from the severe medically determinable impairments (“MDIs”) of “lumbago [(i.e., lower back pain)]…