Binion on Behalf of Binion v. Chater, 96-2228

• Decision Date: 11 March 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96-2228,96-2228
• Citation: 108 F.3d 780
• Parties: Sandra BINION, o/b/o Clifton BINION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Shirley S. CHATER, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 780

108 F.3d 780

52 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 807

Sandra BINION, o/b/o Clifton BINION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Shirley S. CHATER, Commissioner of Social Security Defendant-Appellee.

No. 96-2228.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued Jan. 9, 1997.

Decided March 11, 1997.

Gary S. Wild, Avram L. Sacks (argued), Chicago, IL, for plaintiff-appellant.

Mary Thorson (argued), Department of Health and Human Services, Region V, Office of the General Counsel, Ernest Y. Ling, Office of United States Attorney, Civil Division, Chicago, IL, for defendant-appellee.

Before MANION, KANNE, and EVANS, Circuit Judges.

TERENCE T. EVANS, Circuit Judge.

Is Clifton Binion the biological son of Johnny E. Binion? We can't be absolutely sure. But, we can say Clifton is the legal son of Johnny E. Binion for purposes of survivor's benefits, and because we can, the judgment of the district court affirming a decision of the Commissioner of Social Security is reversed.

Sandra Binion and Johnny E. Binion were married in 1965 and had four children, all girls, between 1966 and 1971. Sandra also had an older son, Charley, from a previous relationship. Clifton Binion, the child for whom Sandra presently attempts to obtain child's insurance benefits, was born to Sandra on August 10, 1976. At the time of Clifton's birth, Sandra and Johnny were separated. On Clifton's birth certificate, Sandra left blank the spaces for the father's name and place of birth, but she indicated the father's age was 34. Johnny turned 34 a few months after Clifton's birth.

Sandra and Johnny divorced in January 1984. The divorce decree, entered by default because Johnny did not respond to Sandra's complaint, stated that Johnny deserted Sandra for a period of a year or more, beginning on February 10, 1976. The divorce decree listed the four daughters as children of the marriage, but did not list Clifton or Charley. All information on the decree came from Sandra.

Johnny Binion died in May 1991. In July of that year Sandra filed, on Clifton's behalf, a claim under the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 402(d), seeking child's insurance benefits based on the earnings record of Johnny, a deceased wage earner. Because Johnny's name did not appear on the birth certificate, suspicions were raised at the Social Security Administration--the folks there thought Clifton might not be Johnny's legitimate child. After some investigation, Sandra's claim was denied, and Sandra requested a hearing before an administrative law judge. The hearing took place in August 1992. On September 8, 1992, the ALJ denied Sandra's claim, ruling that Clifton was not Johnny's child within the meaning of the Social Security Act. Sandra's request for review by the Administration's appeals council was denied in October 1993, and the ALJ's decision became the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security. ¹

On December 21, 1993, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), Sandra filed a complaint in district court seeking review of the Commissioner's denial of Clifton's child's insurance benefits. In November 1995 the magistrate judge (now District Judge Joan Gottschall) assigned to the case recommended that the denial of benefits be reversed and that Sandra's motion for summary judgment be granted. The district court disagreed with the recommendation and, on March 20, 1996, granted the Commissioner's motion for summary judgment, which affirmed the denial of benefits. From that decision, Sandra appeals.

The ALJ's findings of fact must be upheld if supported by substantial evidence. 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). "Substantial evidence" is evidence which a reasonable mind would accept as adequate to support a conclusion. Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 1427, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971); Imani, on behalf of Hayes v. Heckler, 797 F.2d 508, 510 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 988, 107 S.Ct. 580, 93 L.Ed.2d 583 (1986). A federal court may not decide facts anew, reweigh the evidence, or substitute its judgment for that of the Social Security Administration. Where conflicting evidence allows reasonable minds to differ as to whether a claimant is entitled to benefits, the responsibility for that decision falls on the Commissioner. Walker v. Bowen, 834 F.2d 635, 640, 643-44 (7th Cir.1987). Conclusions of law are not entitled to deference, however, so if the Commissioner commits an error of law, reversal is required without regard to the volume of evidence in support of the factual findings. Imani, 797 F.2d at 510.

To obtain child's survivorship benefits for Clifton due to Johnny's death, Sandra must establish that Clifton was the "child" of Johnny as defined in the Social Security Act. Although the Act allows an individual to establish that he is the child in several ways, see 42 U.S.C. § 416(h), Sandra has pursued only one: that Clifton was Johnny's legitimate child and a product of their marriage. 42 U.S.C. §§ 402(d)(3)(A), 416(e), 416(h)(2)(A). The parties agree that to determine whether Clifton is a legitimate child for benefits eligibility, the Administration applies the substantive law regarding devolution of intestate personal property of the state in which Johnny was domiciled at the time of his death. 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(2)(A).

Johnny died while living in Chicago so the law of the Illini state controls this case. Under the Illinois Parentage Act, which affects intestate succession, a man is presumed to be the natural father of a child if he and the child's natural mother are or have been married to each other and the child is born or conceived during the marriage. 750 ILCS 45/5(a)(1). This presumption of legitimacy may be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence. 750 ILCS 45/5(b). The parties agree that Sandra and Johnny were married when Clifton was conceived and born and that Clifton therefore is presumed to be Johnny's child under Illinois law. The issue for us is whether the presumption has, as a matter of law, been rebutted by clear and convincing evidence.

What constitutes clear and convincing proof depends on the circumstances of a given case. In re Estate of Willis, 214 Ill.App.3d 683, 690, 158 Ill.Dec. 378, 574 N.E.2d 172, appeal denied, 141 Ill.2d 539, 162 Ill.Dec. 486, 580 N.E.2d 112 (1991). In Illinois paternity cases,

clear and convincing evidence is considered to be more than a preponderance while not quite approaching the degree of proof necessary to convict a person of a criminal offense. The spectrum of increasing degrees of proof, from preponderance of the evidence, to clear and convincing evidence, to beyond a reasonable doubt, is widely recognized, and it has been suggested that the standard of proof required would be clearer if the degrees of proof were defined, respectively, as probably true, highly probably true, and almost certainly true.

Chang v. Ragen (In re Estate of Ragen), 79 Ill.App.3d 8, 14, 34 Ill.Dec. 523, 398 N.E.2d 198 (1979) (citations omitted). In some legitimacy presumption cases "clear and convincing" evidence has also been described as "clear and irrefragable" proof. See People ex rel. Gonzalez v. Monroe, 43 Ill.App.2d 1, 6, 192 N.E.2d 691 (1963) ("There is a presumption that the husband is the father of a child born to his wife.... [T]he presumption and clarity of the law are in the child's favor and those who wish to bastardize him must make out the fact by clear and irrefragable proof."). "Irrefragable proof" means "proof of such character that it cannot be disputed." People ex rel. Repsel v. Kirk, 133 Ill.App.2d 771, 775, 273 N.E.2d 86 (1971).

In a more recent Social Security case involving Illinois' legitimacy law, we described the various legal standards as:

The preponderance standard is a more-likely-than-not rule, under which the trier of fact rules for the plaintiff if it thinks the chance greater than 0.5 that the plaintiff is in the right. The reasonable doubt standard is much higher, perhaps 0.9 or better. The clear-and-convincing standard is somewhere in between.

Brown v. Bowen, 847 F.2d 342, 345-46 (7th Cir.1988). Within each range of a burden of proof, the levels of evidence vary: " 'Beyond a reasonable doubt' means one thing in a misdemeanor case and another in a capital case.... The more serious the consequences ... the higher the level of certainty required." Id. at 346. Illinois treats the determination of paternity as a very serious matter. Id.; Gonzalez, 43 Ill.App.2d at 6, 7, 192 N.E.2d 691 (the presumption that a husband is the father of a child born to his wife "has great force and vigor" and is "one of the strongest presumptions in law"). In 1963, an Illinois court indicated that the presumption that a husband is the father of a child born to his wife "was conceived for the purpose of preserving family stability and protecting helpless infants from the stigma of illegitimacy." Gonzalez, 43 Ill.App.2d at 6, 192 N.E.2d 691. Today, the stigma attached to a child born outside of marriage has softened. For proof, one need look no further than the topic "Children Out-of-Wedlock" in West's key number system, an entry that not long ago read "Bastards." A change, however, in how society generally treats children born outside of marriage does not lessen the importance of the state interest. The devolution of intestate property and child support are still affected by such rules. And Illinois gives us no indication that it treats paternity and its rules of legitimacy any less seriously today than it did years ago.

What all this tells us is that the level of proof for legitimacy cases should be at the high end of the clear and convincing range. In sum, between the word "irrefragable" and the importance of the state interest, proof against legitimacy has to be extremely strong to overcome the presumption.

In addition to the omissions on the birth certificate and divorce decree, the evidence before the ALJ included two applications for benefits. In a November 1975 application for disability insurance benefits,...