Sloan v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 27

OPINION AND ORDER accepting and adopting 26 Report and Recommendations. The Decision of the Commissioner is affirmed. The Clerk shall enter judgment accordingly and close the file. Signed by Judge John E. Steele on 8/8/2014. (RKR)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
LINDA SLOAN,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No: 2:13-cv-314-FtM-29CM

COMMISSIONER
SECURITY,

OF

SOCIAL

Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
This

matter

is

before

the

Court

on

consideration

of

Magistrate Judge Carol Mirando’s Report and Recommendation (Doc.
#26), filed on July 18, 2014, recommending that the Decision of
the Commissioner be affirmed.

No objections have been filed, and

the time to do so has expired.
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)(citing Lewis v. Callahan, 125 F.3d 1436, 1439
(11th Cir. 1997)).

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)(citing
Crawford,

363

F.3d

at

1158-59).

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

(citing

Sullivan, 894 F.2d 1520, 1529 (11th Cir. 1990)).

Martin

v.

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 (citing Bloodsworth v. Heckler, 703 F.2d
1233, 1239 (11th Cir. 1983)); Dyer v. Barnhart, 395 F.3d 1206,
1210 (11th Cir. 2005)(citing Phillips v. Barnhart, 357 F.3d 1232,
1240 n.8 (11th Cir. 2004)).

The Court reviews the Commissioner’s

conclusions of law under a de novo standard of review.
Comm’r

of

Soc.

Sec.

Admin.,

496

F.3d

1253,

1260

Ingram v.
(11th

Cir.

2007)(citing Martin, 894 F.2d at 1529).
The Report and Recommendation makes the following findings:
(1) the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) did not err in determining
that plaintiff’s mental impairments OF depression, generalized
anxiety, and social phobia were nonsevere because he properly
attributed significant probative weight to the opinions of James
Mendelson, Ph.D. and Lee Reback, Psy.D., P.A., and alternatively,
any error was harmless; (2) the ALJ properly analyzed the opinion
of plaintiff’s treating physician, Joseph S. Chirillo Jr., M.D.,
in determining plaintiff’s residual functional capacity; (3) the
ALJ properly considered and assessed plaintiff’s credibility; and
(4) the ALJ’s determination that plaintiff could perform her past
relevant

work

substantial

as

a

evidence.

medical

secretary

After

an

- 2 -

was

supported

independent

review

by

the

of

the

administrative record, Doc. #14, the Court agrees with the findings
and recommendations in the Report and Recommendation.
Accordingly, it is now
ORDERED:
1.

The Report and Recommendation (Doc. #26) 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, this
August, 2014.

Copies:
Hon. Carol Mirando
U.S. Magistrate Judge
Counsel of Record

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8th

day of