FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION NOV 13 2015
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
DIMITRIA M. CANDELARIA, No. 13-35961
Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 3:12-cv-05316-RJB-KLS
v.
MEMORANDUM*
CAROLYN W. COLVIN,
Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Washington
Robert J. Bryan, Senior District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted October 14, 2015
Seattle, Washington
Before: KOZINSKI, W. FLETCHER and FISHER, Circuit Judges.
1. The administrative law judge (ALJ) found that Candelaria wasn’t credible
because (1) her physical therapist reported that she may have exaggerated her pain
levels, (2) she participated in a wrestling competition during her alleged period of
disability and (3) she attended only half of her scheduled physical-therapy
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
page 2
appointments. These specific and convincing reasons for discounting Candelaria’s
testimony amply justify the ALJ’s adverse credibility determination. See
Tonapetyan v. Halter, 242 F.3d 1144, 1148 (9th Cir. 2001); Fair v. Bowen, 885
F.2d 597, 603–05 (9th Cir. 1989).
2. Although the ALJ didn’t discuss every detail in the medical record, he
did discuss all of the significant and probative evidence that bore on Candelaria’s
ability to work. Nothing more was required. Vincent ex rel. Vincent v. Heckler,
739 F.2d 1393, 1394–95 (9th Cir. 1984) (per curiam). The ALJ’s decision to give
“little weight” to an evaluation submitted by Candelaria’s physical therapist was
justified by the fact that the physical therapist concluded that Candelaria may have
been exaggerating her pain levels.
3. The ALJ did not err by declining to fully credit a lay-witness report
submitted by Posada, Candelaria’s daughter and caretaker. The ALJ could
reasonably distrust Posada’s report because it was inconsistent with the medical
evidence. Bayliss v. Barnhart, 427 F.3d 1211, 1218 (9th Cir. 2005). Moreover,
any error in failing to credit Posada was harmless because her report largely
recounted complaints from Candelaria, whom the ALJ had already found to be not
page 3
credible. See Valentine v. Comm’r Soc. Sec. Admin., 574 F.3d 685, 694 (9th Cir.
2009).
* * *
Because substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s determination that
Candelaria is not disabled, the decision below is AFFIRMED.