Opinion
8:20-cv-2714-TPB-SPF
08-30-2022
FREDERICK KRANZ, Plaintiff, v. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant.
ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
TOM BARBER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
This matter is before the Court on consideration of the report and recommendation of Sean P. Flynn, United States Magistrate Judge, entered on June 22, 2022. (Doc. 32). Judge Flynn recommends that the Administrative Law Judge's (“ALJ”) decision in this Social Security case be affirmed. Plaintiff filed an objection on July 1, 2022. (Doc. 34). Defendant filed a response to the objection on July 15, 2022. (Doc. 35).
After conducting a careful and complete review of the findings and recommendations, a district judge may accept, reject, or modify the magistrate judge's report and recommendation. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Camby v. Davis, 718 F.2d 198, 199 (4th Cir. 1983); Williams v. Wainwright, 681 F.2d 732 (11th Cir. 1982). A district court must “make a de novo determination of those portions of the [report and recommendation] to which an objection is made.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C). When no objection is filed, a court reviews the report and recommendation for clear error. Macort v. Prem, Inc., 208 Fed.Appx. 781, 784 (11th Cir. 2006); Nettles v. Wainwright, 677 F.2d 404, 409 (5th Cir. 1982).
Upon due consideration of the record, including the parties' 95-page Joint Memorandum (with a 24 page attachment), and Judge Flynn's very detailed and thorough 26-page report and recommendation, the Court adopts the report and recommendation and overrules the objection. The Court agrees with Judge Flynn's well-reasoned analysis and conclusions, and the objection does not provide a basis for overruling the report and recommendation. It should be noted that Judge Flynn's report and recommendation was itself essentially an appellate review of the ALJ's decision. Judge Flynn did not find fault in the ALJ's findings because there was no fault to be found. This Court agrees with Defendant's characterization of Plaintiff's objection: “Plaintiff's objections basically reiterate the arguments he presented in the Joint Memorandum and challenge select language in Magistrate Judge Flynn's Report and Recommendation.” This Court, after concluding the independent review required under the applicable law, does not agree that both the ALJ and Judge Flynn got it wrong. Instead, Judge Flynn got it right, and the points argued in the objection lack merit.
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED:
(1) Judge Flynn's report and recommendation (Doc. 32) is AFFIRMED and ADOPTED and INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE into this Order for all purposes, including appellate review.
(2) The decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED.
(3) The Clerk is directed to enter final judgment in favor of the Commissioner and against Plaintiff and thereafter close the case.
DONE and ORDERED.