(SS) MacDowell v. Commissioner of Social Security

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 IAN CLAIRE MACDOWELL, No. 2:21-cv-00729 AC Plaintiff, v. ORDER KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, 14 Defendant.

16 Plaintiff seeks judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (“Commissioner”), denying his application for disability insurance benefits (“DIB”) under Title II of the Social Security Act (“the Act”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 401-34. For the reasons that follow, plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED, and defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment is DENIED. I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Plaintiff applied for DIB on August 15, 2017. Administrative Record (“AR”) 104. The disability onset date was alleged to be April 1, 2015. AR 210. The application was disapproved initially and on reconsideration. AR 122, 129. On May 15, 2019, ALJ Carol A. Eckersen 26 DIB is paid to disabled persons who have contributed to the Disability Insurance Program, and 27 …