Opinion
4:22-cv-00347-KGB
07-09-2024
REBECCA SAPPINGTON PLAINTIFF v. SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION DEFENDANT
ORDER
KRISTINE G. BAKER, CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
Before the Court is the Recommended Disposition (“Recommendation”) submitted by United States Magistrate Judge J. Thomas Ray (Dkt. No. 10). Plaintiff Rebecca Sappington's complaint seeks review of the Social Security Administration's decision to deny her disability benefits (Dkt. No. 2). Judge Ray recommends that defendant Social Security Administration's motion to dismiss Ms. Sappington's complaint be granted because Ms. Sappington's complaint was untimely filed (Dkt. No. 10, at 2). Ms. Sappington filed timely objections to Judge Ray's Recommendation (Dkt. No. 11). After careful consideration of the Recommendation and the objections, as well as a de novo review of the record, the Court concludes that the Recommendation should be, and hereby is, approved and adopted in its entirety as this Court's findings in all respects (Dkt. No. 10).
The Court writes separately to address Ms. Sappington's objections. Ms. Sappington's objections re-iterate the history of her social security disability appeal and describe her attempts to find an attorney to represent her during her appeal (Dkt. No. 11, at 1, 2). To claim successfully the benefit of equitable tolling, Ms. Sappington must establish that: (1) she has been pursuing her rights diligently, and (2) some extraordinary circumstance stood in her way. See Thompson v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 919 F.3rd 1033, 1037 (8th Cir. 2019). Ms. Sappington's objections provide no facts evidencing extraordinary circumstances standing in the way of a timely appeal (Dkt. No. 11). The Court, having reviewed the complete record, overrules Ms. Sappington's objections and affirms the standard applied, reasoning set forth, and conclusions reached by Judge Ray (Dkt. No. 10).
For these reasons, the Court adopts Judge Ray's Recommendation as this Court's findings in all respects (Dkt. No. 10). The Court grants the Social Security Administration's motion to dismiss and dismisses without prejudice Ms. Sappington's complaint.
It is so ordered.