Thomas v. Social Security Administration

¶1 Plaintiff-Appellant Germaine Amelia Thomas appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant-Appellee Social Security Administration (SSA) in her judicial challenge to the Commissioner of Social Security’s administrative denial of her application for supplemental security income payments under Title XVI of the Social Security Act. On appeal, Thomas, who is represented by counsel, alleges only that the administrative law judge (ALJ) improperly weighed the opinion of a state agency medical consultant in determining Thomas’s residual functional capacity.

¶2 Our careful review of the record reveals that Thomas nowhere made this argument before the district court. It is familiar law that a party who wishes to preserve an argument for appeal must raise the argument “to such a degree that the district court has an opportunity to rule on it.” 1 Because Thomas failed to raise the argument that the ALJ improperly weighed the consultant’s opinion in the district court, *645 the district court had no opportunity to rule on it. Accordingly, Thomas’s sole argument is waived.

¶3 AFFIRMED.