Sherman v. Astrue

Full title: STEVEN SHERMAN, Plaintiff, v. MICHAEL J. ASTRUE, Commissioner of Social…

Court: United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Fort Myers Division

Date published: Jun 26, 2009

Case No. 2:09-cv-319-FtM-29SPC (M.D. Fla. Jun. 26, 2009)

Opinion

Case No. 2:09-cv-319-FtM-29SPC.

June 26, 2009

OPINION AND ORDER

JOHN STEELE, District Judge

This matter is before the Court on consideration of Magistrate Judge Sheri Polster Chappell's Report and Recommendation (Doc. #22), filed on June 5, 2009, recommending that the Commissioner's decision to deny social security disability benefits be affirmed. No objections have been filed, and the time to do so has expired. For the reasons set forth below, the Court accepts the Report and Recommendation and affirms the decision of the Commissioner.

The Court reviews the Commissioner's decision to determine if it is supported by substantial evidence and based upon proper legal standards. Crawford v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 363 F.3d 1155, 1158 (11th Cir. 2004). Substantial evidence is more than a scintilla but less than a preponderance, and is such relevant evidence as a reasonable person would accept as adequate to support a conclusion. Moore v. Barnhart, 405 F.3d 1208, 1211 (11th Cir. 2005);Crawford, 363 F.3d at 1158. Even if the evidence preponderates against the Commissioner's findings, the Court must affirm if the decision reached is supported by substantial evidence. Crawford, 363 F.3d at 1158-59. The Court does not decide facts anew, make credibility judgments, reweigh the evidence, or substitute its judgment for that of the Commissioner. Moore, 405 F.3d at 1211;Dyer v. Barnhart, 395 F.3d 1206, 1210 (11th Cir. 2005). The magistrate judge, district judge and appellate judges all apply the same legal standards to the review of the Commissioner's decision. Dyer, 395 F.3d at 1210; Shinn v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 391 F.3d 1276, 1282 (11th Cir. 2004); Phillips v. Barnhart, 357 F.3d 1232, 1240 n. 8 (11th Cir. 2004).

The Report and Recommendation found that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) properly assessed plaintiff's credibility, correctly applied the Eleventh Circuit pain standard, and properly utilized the Grids. After a review of the record, the Court agrees.

Accordingly, it is now

ORDERED:

1. The Report and Recommendation (Doc. #22) is accepted and adopted by the Court.

2. The Decision of the Commissioner of Social Security is affirmed.

3. The Clerk of the Court shall enter judgment accordingly and close the file.

DONE AND ORDERED at Fort Myers, Florida.