MARY L. HART, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT,
v.
ROBERT H. FINCH, SECRETARY OF HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE, DEFENDANT-APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court considered whether to pay an insurance policy in Florida in US dollars or in Cuba in Cuban pesos, and whether Cuban law governed the contract.
The court found that Cuban law did not govern the contract and that the action could be brought in Florida, implying the defendant could be made to pay in dollars in Florida.
The plaintiff, beneficiary of a life insurance policy issued in 1923 on a Cuban resident, sued the insurer in Florida after the insured's death in 196…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Claimant'S Burden Of Proof cases and more on FLexlaw
[*1341] PER CURIAM:
Mary L. Hart, claimant and appellant, appeals from the judgment of the district court affirming the decision of the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare denying her application for disability benefits under the Social Security Act. The sole question presented is whether there is substantial evidence to support the denial of benefits. Because we find substantial medical evidence in the record to support the ruling of the Secretary that claimant is not entitled to benefits under the Act, we affirm.
The district court refused to set aside the decision of the Secretary on the ground that Mrs. Hart had not established eligibility within the applicable restrictive definition of “disability” enacted by Congress.1 A “disability” under the Social Security Act as amended is defined as the “inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months * * *.”2 The act places the burden on the claimant to prove by such medical and other appropriate evidence that she was “disabled” under the provisions of the act.3 Moreover, in determining whether the claimant has discharged the burden of proving disability, it is the province of the Secretary to weigh all the evidence and to resolve the conflicts on the record.4 Thus, the primary function of this court is not to reweigh the evidence, but to determine whether there is substantial evidence to support the Secretary’s decision.5
Despite plaintiff’s allegations of numerous ailments, the medical evidence of record shows that her major impairment prior to June 30, 1967 (when she last met the “earning requirement”) was pain due to minor conditions relating to arthritis, menopausal syndrome, generalized edema, sinusitis, and a chronic anxiety state. However, plaintiff’s alleged impairments, either singly or in combination, were not of such severity as to have precluded substantial gainful activity prior to June 30, 1967.6 As the Hearing Examiner concluded “[t]he only conclusions which such medical evidence permits is that the claimant’s major impairment is psychiatric and non-disabling considered alone or in conjunction with her minor physical impairments.”
After a careful review of the record, including the administrative transcript, we conclude that there was substantial medical evidence in the record to support the Secretary’s conclusion that the claimant was not entitled to the benefits claimed.
The judgment is affirmed.
. Social Security Act §§ 216 (i), 223, 42 U.S.O. §§ 416(i), 423, as amended (1969).
. Social Security Act §§ 216(i), 223 as amended, 42 U.S.O. §§ 416(i) (1) (A), 423(d) (1) (A) as amended (1969).
. Miller v. Finch, 430 F. 2d 321 (8th Cir. 1970); Brown v. Finch, 429 F. 2d 80, 83 (5th Cir. 1970).
. Burdett v. Finch, 425 F. 2d 687, 688 (5th Cir. 1970); Johnson v. Gardner, 401 F. 2d 518, 519 (8th Cir. 1968); Lane v. Gardner, 374 F. 2d 612, 616 (5th Cir. 1967).
. Social Security Act § 205(g), 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) (1964). See: Richardson v. Richardson, 437 F. 2d 109 (5th Cir. 1970) [No. 30247, December 11, 1970]; Reams v. Finch, 428 F. 2d 1225 (8th Cir. 1970); Gray v. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, 421 F. 2d 638 (5th Cir. 1970) . Compare: Williams v. Finch, 440 F. 2d 613 (5th Cir. 1971) [March 17, 1971] .
. Cooper v. Finch, 433 F. 2d 315, 316 (5th Cir. 1970); Gentile v. Finch, 423 F. 2d 244, 246 (4th Cir. 1970).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Oldham v. Schweiker, 660 F.2d 1078 (5th Cir. 1981)
-
Mrs. Willie C. Kirkland v. Caspar W. Weinberger, 480 F.2d 46 (5th Cir. 1973)
-
Payne v. Caspar Weinberger, 480 F.2d 1006 (5th Cir. 1973)
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (11 total)
- Dock Williams v. Finch, 440 F.2d 613 (5th Cir. 1971)
- Brown v. Finch, 429 F.2d 80 (5th Cir. 1970)
- Lane v. Gardner, 374 F.2d 612 (6th Cir. 1967)
- Gentile v. Finch, 423 F.2d 244 (3d Cir. 1970)
- Forrest Gray v. Secretary OF Health, 421 F.2d 638 (5th Cir. 1970)
- Freeman A. Burdett v. Finch, 425 F.2d 687 (5th Cir. 1970)
- Miller v. Finch, 430 F.2d 321 (8th Cir. 1970)
- Richardson v. Elliott L. Richardson, 437 F.2d 109 (5th Cir. 1970)
- Hulon Cooper v. Finch, 433 F.2d 315 (5th Cir. 1970)
- Johnson v. Gardner, 401 F.2d 518 (8th Cir. 1968)