Cope v. Bisignano

── Cope v. Bisignano ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Date: April 27, 2026 Category: General NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS APR 27 2026 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT KATRINA LE ANNE COPE, No. 25-2337 D.C. No. Plaintiff - Appellant, 3:24-cv-05513-MLP v. MEMORANDUM* FRANK BISIGNANO, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington Michelle L. Peterson, Magistrate Judge, Presiding Submitted April 23, 2026** Seattle, Washington Before: MURGUIA, Chief Judge, W. FLETCHER and KOH, Circuit Judges. Katrina Le Anne Cope (“Cope”) appeals the district court’s decision affirming the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of her application for Supplemental Security Income under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1382c(a)(3). We review the district court’s decision “de novo, and we * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). will not overturn the Commissioner’s decision ‘unless it is either not supported by substantial evidence or is based upon legal error.’” Woods v. Kijakazi, 32 F.4th 785, 788 (9th Cir. 2022) (quoting Luther v. Berryhill, 891 F.3d 872, 875 (9th Cir. 2018)). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm. 1. The ALJ articulated clear and convincing reasons for rejecting Cope’s symptom testimony. See Smartt v. Kijakazi, 53 F.4th 489, 499 (9th Cir. 2022). Here, the ALJ considered Cope’s testimony that she had severe pain, depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms that precluded her from working, interacting with others, and performing daily activities outside her home. Although the ALJ found that Cope’s “medically determinable impairments could reasonably be expected to cause the alleged symptoms,” the ALJ declined to fully credit Cope’s testimony because it was inconsistent with the other evidence in the record. The ALJ described inconsistencies between Cope’s testimony and the objective medical evidence, noting that imaging and physical examinations showed only mild to moderate abnormalities and “unremarkable” findings, and that during examinations, “despite [Cope’s] complaints, she was often observed in no acute distress, or looked well and comfortable.” The ALJ further noted that Cope’s treatment remained conservative and appeared effective, “although she was not always compliant with taking prescribed medication.” The ALJ also found that Cope’s subjective complaints were inconsistent 2 25-2337 with her improvement over time and her recent activity level. As to Cope’s improvement over time, the ALJ noted that Cope had “variability in [her] symptoms” but “demonstrated significant improvement in 2023.” The ALJ described Cope’s progression of symptoms from May 2020 through May 2023, which was interspersed with addiction to drugs. Cope’s activities that demonstrated improvement over time included Cope’s caretaking for her mother, which included taking her mother to Seattle for treatment; Cope’s work and volunteer activities, as evidenced by Cope’s report “that she was very busy performing volunteer work with the Salvation Army up to 40 hours per week,” “worked for a