Opinion
Case No. 8:19-cv-1003-T-33SPF
08-24-2020
SHERRY ERTEL, Plaintiff, v. COMMISSIONER, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Defendant.
ORDER
This matter is before the Court on consideration of United States Magistrate Judge Sean P. Flynn's Report and Recommendation (Doc. # 24), filed on August 7, 2020, recommending that Plaintiff Sherry Ertel's Unopposed Motion for Attorney's Fees be granted.
As of the date of this Order, no objections have been filed and the time for filing objections has lapsed. The Court accepts and adopts the Report and Recommendation, grants Ertel's motion and awards her attorney's fees in the amount of $920.16 and paralegal fees in the amount of $510.00, for a total award of $1,430.16. Discussion
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); Williams v. Wainwright, 681 F.2d 732 (11th Cir. 1982). In the absence of specific objections, there is no requirement that a district judge review factual findings de novo, Garvey v. Vaughn, 993 F.2d 776, 779 n.9 (11th Cir. 1993), and the court may accept, reject or modify, in whole or in part, the findings and recommendation. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C). The district judge reviews legal conclusions de novo, even in the absence of an objection. See Cooper-Houston v. S. Ry. Co., 37 F.3d 603, 604 (11th Cir. 1994); Castro Bobadilla v. Reno, 826 F. Supp. 1428, 1431-32 (S.D. Fla. 1993), aff'd, 28 F.3d 116 (11th Cir. 1994).
After conducting a careful and complete review of the findings, conclusions and recommendations, and giving de novo review to matters of law, the Court accepts the factual findings and legal conclusions of the Magistrate Judge.
Accordingly, it is now
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED: (1) The Report and Recommendation (Doc. # 24) is ACCEPTED and ADOPTED. (2) Plaintiff Sherry Ertel's Unopposed Motion for Attorney's Fees (Doc. # 23) is GRANTED. (3) Pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412, Ertel shall be awarded attorney's fees in the amount of $920.16 and paralegal fees in the amount of $510.00, for a total award of $1,430.16, if she is not indebted to the United States Department of the Treasury.
DONE and ORDERED in Chambers in Tampa, Florida, this 24th day of August, 2020.
/s/_________
VIRGINIA M. HERNANDEZ COVINGTON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE