Sullivan V. Zebley - Court's Opinion

Court's Opinion

After oral arguments on November 28, 1989, the Supreme Court issued its decision on February 20, 1990. By a 7 to 2 margin, the Supreme Court found SSA’s listing-only methodology for determining SSI child claims inconsistent with the statutory standard of “comparable severity” set forth in the Social Security Act. The Court invalidated the SSA's regulations and rulings as they were found to not provide SSI child claimants with an individualized functional assessment similar to the functional analysis considered in many adult claims. The Court concluded that SSA could determine the effect of an impairment on a child’s ability to perform age-appropriate activities in much the same way it determines the effect of impairments on an adult’s ability to work.