Opinion
Case No. 16-11526
07-11-2017
SANDRA JEAN ANDREASEN, Plaintiff, v. NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Defendants.
Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Stafford
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [13] AND DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [16]
Before the Court is Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Stafford's Report and Recommendation. (R. 20.) At the conclusion of her Report and Recommendation, Magistrate Judge Stafford notified the parties that they were required to file any objections within fourteen days of service, as provided in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b)(2) and Eastern District of Michigan Local Rule 72.1(d), and that "[f]ailure to file specific objections constitutes a waiver of any further right of appeal." (R. 20, PID 377-78.) The time to file objections has expired and no objections have been filed.
The Court finds that the parties' failure to object is a procedural default, waiving review of the Magistrate Judge's findings by this Court. In United States v. Walters, 638 F.2d 947, 949-50 (6th Cir. 1981), the Sixth Circuit established a rule of procedural default, holding that "a party shall file objections with the district court or else waive right to appeal." And in Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 144 (1985), the Supreme Court explained that the Sixth Circuit's waiver-of-appellate-review rule rested on the assumption "that the failure to object may constitute a procedural default waiving review even at the district court level." 474 U.S. at 149; see also Garrison v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, No. 10-13990, 2012 WL 1278044, at *8 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 16, 2012) ("The Court is not obligated to review the portions of the report to which no objection was made." (citing Thomas, 474 U.S. at 149-52)). The Court further held that this rule violates neither the Federal Magistrates Act nor the Federal Constitution.
The Court therefore finds that the parties have waived further review of the Magistrate Judge's Report and accepts her recommended disposition. It follows that Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (R. 13) is GRANTED, Defendant's motion for summary judgment (R. 16) is DENIED, and the matter is REMANDED for further proceedings. A separate judgment will follow.
SO ORDERED.
s/Laurie J. Michelson
LAURIE J. MICHELSON
U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated: July 11, 2017
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
The undersigned certifies that the foregoing document was served upon counsel of record and any unrepresented parties via the Court's ECF System to their respective email or First Class U.S. mail addresses disclosed on the Notice of Electronic Filing on July 11, 2017.
s/Keisha Jackson
Case Manager