(SS) Sakane v. Commissioner of Social Security

I. INTRODUCTION

17 18 On April 13, 2023, Plaintiff Michael James Sakane (“Plaintiff”) filed a complaint under 19 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) seeking judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner of Social 20 Security (the “Commissioner” or “Defendant”) denying his application for disability insurance 21 benefits (“DIB”) under Title II of the Social Security Act (the “Act”). (Doc. 1.) The matter is 22 currently before the Court on the parties’ briefs, which were submitted, without oral argument, to the Honorable Sheila K. Oberto, United States Magistrate Judge.2 24 II. BACKGROUND 26 1 On December 20, 2023, Martin O’Malley was named Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. See https://www.ssa.gov/history/commissioners.html. He is therefore substituted as the defendant in this action. See 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) (referring to the “Commissioner’s Answer”); 20 C.F.R. § 422.210(d) (“the person holding the Office of the Commissioner shall, in [their] official capacity, be the proper defendant.”). 1 On February 28, 2020, Plaintiff protectively filed a claim for DIB payments, alleging he 2 became disabled on December 15, 2019, due to…