JOHNSON
v.
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY

M.D. Fla. | 2022-08-23
No. 2:22-cv-650
District Court, M.D. Florida (2022)

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.


Holding

The Court adopts the magistrate judge's report and recommendation, affirming the Commissioner's denial of disability benefits.


Facts & Procedural History

Plaintiff sought judicial review of the denial of his application for Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income. The magistrate j…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff Todd Gary Johnson’s Complaint, Dkt. 1, seeking judicial review of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration’s denial of his application for Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income. The magistrate judge issued a report recommending the Commissioner’s decision be affirmed, Dkt. 20, to which Plaintiff timely objected, Dkt. 21. Upon careful consideration, the Court adopts the report and recommendation. A district court may accept, reject, or modify “in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3). If objections are filed, as here, a de novo determination is required “of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3). Legal conclusions are reviewed de novo, even in the absence of an objection. LeCroy v. McNeil, 397 F. App'x 554, 2 556 (11th Cir. 2010); Cooper-Houston v. S. Ry. Co., 37 F. 3d 603, 604 (11th Cir. 1994).

Here, Plaintiff raises one objection to the report and recommendation. Plaintiff contends that the magistrate judge erred in finding that the administrative law judge (“ALJ”) “properly assessed Dr. Kahn’s opinion on supportability and consistency with the record.” Dkt. 21 at 1−2. This is not a true objection, but a rehashing of Plaintiff’s claim that the magistrate judge thoroughly addressed. See Dkt. 19 at 14−21; Dkt. 20 at 5−15. “[P]arties are not to be afforded a second bite at the apple when they file objections to a Report.” League v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec.,

No. 2:22-cv-650-SPC-NPM, 2022 WL 703011, at *3 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 9, 2022) (citation omitted). In any event, the Court agrees with the magistrate judge’s well-reasoned report and recommendation. As thoroughly and accurately explained by the magistrate judge, Dkt. 20 at 7−15, Plaintiff has not carried his burden of showing a lack of substantial evidence supporting the ALJ’s determination that Dr. Khan’s opinion was inconsistent with and not supported by the record, see Sims v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 706 F. App’x 595, 604 (11th Cir. 2017) (citing Barnes v. Sullivan, 932 F. 2d 1356, 1358 (11th Cir. 1991)). Though Plaintiff may not agree with the ALJ’s credibility determinations and weighing of evidence, this Court is precluded from

“deciding the facts anew, making credibility determinations, or re-weighing the evidence.” Moore v. Barnhart, 405 F. 3d 1208, 1211 (11th Cir. 2005). Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff’s objection, Dkt. 21, is OVERRULED.

The magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, Dkt. 20, is hereby ADOPTED, and the Commissioner’s decision is AFFIRMED. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment accordingly and close the case. DONE AND ORDERED at Tampa, Florida, on August 23, 2022.

/s/ William F. Jung

WILLIAM F. JUNG

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

COPIES FURNISHED TO: Counsel of Record


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw