Bridges v. Comm'r, Soc. Sec. Admin.

Full title: LOSSIE BRIDGES v. COMMISSIONER, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Court: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS TYLER DIVISION

Date published: Mar 6, 2018

CIVIL ACTION NO. 6:16cv450 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 6, 2018)

Opinion

CIVIL ACTION NO. 6:16cv450

03-06-2018

LOSSIE BRIDGES v. COMMISSIONER, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Ron Clark, United States District Judge

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

The Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge, which contains her findings, conclusions, and recommendation for the disposition of this action, has been presented for consideration. The Report and Recommendation recommends that the decision of the Commissioner be affirmed and that the complaint be dismissed with prejudice. Plaintiff filed written objections on March 2, 2018.

Having made a de novo review of the objection filed by Plaintiff, the findings, conclusions and recommendation of the Magistrate Judge are correct and Plaintiff's objection is without merit. In his objection, Plaintiff asserts that the Report and Recommendation erred in finding that the ALJ's residual functional capacity was not erroneous because the ALJ did not properly consider medical evidence of his inability to work at unprotected heights. Plaintiff raises this argument for the first time in his written objections. In his brief, Plaintiff included a sentence in his cursory medical evidence outline stating that a consultative examiner found that Plaintiff cannot work at unprotected heights,¹ but he did not argue that the ALJ erred by failing to include this limitation. As a result, it is inappropriate for the Court to consider this new argument during consideration of the Report and Recommendation. Cupit v. Whitley, 28 F.3d 532, 535 n.5 (5^th Cir. 1994) (a party's entitlement to de novo review does not entitle it to raise issues at that stage that were not adequately presented to the Magistrate Judge), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1163, 115 S.Ct. 1128 (1995).

1

Plaintiff's written objection lacks merit. The findings and conclusions of the Magistrate Judge are, therefore, adopted as those of the Court. It is

ORDERED that Plaintiff's objection is OVERRULED. The decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED and this Social Security action is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. It is further

ORDERED that any motion not previously ruled on is DENIED.

So ORDERED and SIGNED this 6 day of March, 2018.

/s/_________

Ron Clark, United States District Judge

See Plaintiff's Brief in Support of Appeal for Judicial Review of the Denial of Social Security Benefits, ECF 16, at *3.