Williams v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 24

ORDER adopting 23 REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS re 1 Complaint filed by Olivia Williams. The Clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff Olivia Williams and against Defendant Commissioner of Social Security, and to close the file. Signed by Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. on 2/5/2018. (ctp)(JLC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO DIVISION
OLIVIA WILLIAMS,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 6:17-cv-275-Orl-37GJK

COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL
SECURITY,
Defendant.
_____________________________________
ORDER
In this social security appeal, Plaintiff challenges the Commission of Social
Security’s (“the Commissioner”) decision to deny her disability benefits. (Doc. 1.) On
January 17, 2018, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory J. Kelly issued a comprehensive Report
and Recommendation (“R&R”) chronicling Plaintiff’s eleven year quest to obtain
benefits. (Doc. 23.) As summarized in the R&R, the record reveals that Plaintiff has not
received an adequate review of her entitlement to benefits despite “four hearings before
two different Administrative Law Judges [(“ALJ”)], and three appeals to this Court.” (Id.
at 13.)
In the instant appeal, Plaintiff contends that the ALJ erred by: (1) failing to comply
with the Appeal Council’s remand instructions directing him to perform a
function-by-function residual functional capacity (“RFC”) assessment; (2) improperly
evaluating three medical opinions in deciding the appropriate RFC; (3) failing to properly
consider the testimony of the vocational expert; and (4) making a credibility
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determination not supported by substantial evidence. (Doc. 22, pp. 12–15, 19–24, 30–31,
34–36.) Consequently, Plaintiff requests reversal of the Commissioner’s decision and an
award of benefits or, alternatively, further administrative proceedings. (Id. at 37.)
Magistrate Judge Kelly agrees with Plaintiff’s first, second, and third assignments
of error. So he recommends that the Court remand this action and direct an award of
benefits based on the grave injustice that Plaintiff has suffered from: (1) the “quantity of
errors over the preceding eleven years”; and (2) the Commissioner’s failure to carry her
burden of “proving that there are other jobs which exist in significant numbers in the
national economy that [Plaintiff] can perform.” (Doc. 23, pp. 7, 11, 13, 14.) No party
objected to the R&R, and the time for doing so has now passed.
Absent objections, the Court has examined the R&R only for clear error. See Wiand
v.

Wells

Fargo

Bank,

N.A.,

No. 8:12-cv-557-T-27EAJ, 2016 WL 355490, at

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(M.D. Fla. Jan. 28, 2016); see also Marcort v. Prem, Inc., 208 F. App’x 781, 784
(11th Cir. 2006). Finding no clear error, the Court concludes that the R&R is due to be
adopted in its entirety. The Court, therefore, finds that the Commissioner’s decision is
due to be reversed. Indeed, this is the right result; the Commissioner cannot use the Court
as a revolving door until she gets it right. This is especially true in the absence of any
cause for optimism that the fate of the next remand will be any different than its
predecessors. Plaintiff has been denied benefits long enough, and her wait ends today.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows:
1.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory J. Kelly’s Report and Recommendation
(Doc. 23) is ADOPTED, CONFIRMED, and made a part of this Order.
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2.

The Commissioner’s decision is REVERSED and REMANDED. On
remand, the Commissioner is DIRECTED to calculate an award of benefits.

3.

The Clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff Olivia
Williams and against Defendant Commissioner of Social Security, and to
close the file.

DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers in Orlando, Florida, on February 5, 2018.

Copies to:
Counsel of Record

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