Practitioners may wish to note the recent decision in Mason v. Commissioner, Western District of Michigan Case No.: 1:21-cv-616, decided August 8, 2022. This case involves issues that are rare to most practitioners, but nevertheless should be in our minds.

More specifically, Plaintiff was a person who suffered from a life-long impairment, but nevertheless was intellectually brilliant and ended up finishing college and then going to graduate school in the field of geology. Unfortunately, she had been unable to fulfill the duties of her master’s degree program, and while she ultimately received her master’s degree, she really had not finished the course of study.

What helped a great deal in this case is that one of her former professors was willing to testify at her hearing that Plaintiff received accommodations, but she nevertheless had struggled to complete her requirements and independent study. He acknowledged the fact that school could have removed her graduate student stipend, but instead the facility did its best to accommodate her. He described her as performing 50 percent of the productivity of a typical master’s level student.

While the ALJ had found that Plaintiff in an (allegedly) Fully Favorable Decision was entitled to SSI Benefits, she went on to find that 50 percent of what Plaintiff had earned as a graduate student was slightly over the requirements for substantial gainful activity (SGA) for two years; for example, in one year, her average income was $87.59 per month over the SGA level for that year. As a result, the ALJ found that Plaintiff was disqualified from receiving Child Disability Benefits (CDB) [formerly known as Disabled Adult Child Benefits (DAC)].

Fortunately, the Magistrate overturned that ruling. In doing so, she relied upon the Sixth Circuit precedent of Cardew v. Commissioner of Social Security, 896 F.3d 742 (6^th Cir. 2018). Cardew specifically indicated that simply applying the SGA earnings standards without considering whether there were special conditions involved with the work in question was contrary to the applicable regulation and that the ALJ in Mason had used an incomplete and overly rigid framework. Following the remand, Plaintiff was awarded CDB Benefits without a hearing.

CDB claims may be lurking in more cases than we think, and, since in most of these cases, an SSI application has been filed, that also amounts to a CDB application. Obviously, you may wish to highlight that to the Social Security Administration or else urge your client to file an application for CDB if there has not been an SSI filing.

Read the decision here.