Soliman v. Kijakazi

Background

Maher Wadie Soliman applied for disability insurance benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act. He alleged that his disability began on January 6, 2012, and identified chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as his impairment. The Social Security Administration initially denied the application and denied it again on reconsideration.

An administrative law judge (ALJ) issued a partially favorable decision in March 2020. The ALJ found that Soliman was not disabled through December 31, 2014, but found that his COPD became severe and that he became disabled on July 23, 2017. The Appeals Council later vacated that decision and sent the matter back for further consideration, including consideration of a 2012 COPD diagnosis, Soliman’s residual functional capacity, his past relevant work, and any transferable skills.

After a second hearing, another ALJ found that Soliman had severe COPD and nicotine dependence during the period from January 6, 2012, through July 23, 2017, but that his impairments did not meet or equal a listed impairment. The ALJ found that Soliman could perform his past relevant work as a lawyer during that period. The ALJ also found that Soliman could not perform that work beginning July 23, 2017, had no transferable skills, and could not adjust to other work. The ALJ therefore found him disabled beginning July 23, 2017. The Appeals Council adopted those findings.

Soliman then filed this action under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) without a lawyer, asking the court to reverse the unfavorable portion of the agency’s decision and grant benefits.

Court’s Analysis

Listing requirements. Soliman argued that his COPD met or equaled the requirements for a listed respiratory impairment. The court explained that the relevant listing could be satisfied through specified pulmonary-function results, impaired gas exchange, or certain hospitalizations. The court agreed that the record lacked pulmonary testing during the relevant period showing that Soliman met or medically equaled the listing. The record included a 2010 chest x-ray and a 2012 diagnosis that he was unfit for deployment because of COPD, but those materials did not include testing showing a specific level of pulmonary impairment. The record also included a normal chest x-ray in 2014 and normal respiratory examinations in 2013 and 2016. The court held that the agency reasonably concluded that Soliman’s COPD did not meet or medically equal a listed impairment.

Earlier decision. Soliman argued that an earlier ALJ or Appeals Council decision should have controlled the later decision. The court rejected that argument because the first ALJ decision was appealed and then vacated in its entirety by the Appeals Council. It therefore was not a final and binding decision with preclusive effect. The court also noted that the second ALJ relied on favorable findings from the first decision to find that Soliman became disabled on July 23, 2017, while independently analyzing whether he was disabled before that date. The court found no legal error in the agency’s treatment of the earlier decision.

Past relevant work and transferable skills. Soliman argued that his work in Iraq and his legal education were not transferable to legal work in the United States, and that his lack of accreditation or a bar license prevented that work from qualifying as past relevant work. The court explained that the relevant inquiry was whether Soliman could functionally perform the duties of his prior job, not whether he could obtain the same job or license in the United States. It held that work in a foreign country could qualify as past relevant work even if it had no counterpart in the United States. The court also held that the agency reasonably found that Soliman could perform his past work as a lawyer during the relevant period based on his residual functional capacity and testimony about his investigative, fact-finding, evidence-evaluation, and presentation duties.

The court separately rejected Soliman’s argument about a Social Security ruling concerning transferable skills. That ruling requires specific findings when an ALJ finds that a claimant has transferable skills. Here, however, the ALJ found that Soliman had no transferable skills and relied on his ability to perform past relevant work before July 23, 2017.

Medical evidence. Soliman argued that the agency improperly discounted a 2010 chest x-ray and Dr. Weishen Griggs’s January 2012 diagnosis that he was unfit for deployment because of COPD. The court held that the Appeals Council reasonably found that the 2012 diagnosis did not provide specific, persuasive evidence of work-related limitations because it addressed deployment, did not describe how COPD had progressed, and was not accompanied by pulmonary-function or blood testing. The court also held that the ALJ reasonably evaluated the 2010 x-ray, which did not include pulmonary-function results and was taken before Soliman’s claimed disability-onset date. The court found that these conclusions were supported by substantial evidence, meaning relevant evidence that a reasonable person could accept as adequate.

Disposition

The court DENIED Soliman’s motion to reverse the ALJ’s decision and grant benefits. It affirmed the Commissioner’s decisions, directed the clerk to enter judgment in favor of the defendant, and closed the case.