Sosa v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 25

ORDER: The Report and Recommendation of the Honorable Thomas B. McCoun III, United States Magistrate Judge 24 , is ACCEPTED and ADOPTED. The decision of the Commissioner of Social Security denying benefits is REVERSED and this matter is REMANDED f or further proceedings. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment in favor of the Plaintiff reflecting that the Commissioner's decision denying benefits is reversed and remanded, and thereafter to close this case. Signed by Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington on 2/12/2013. (CH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
BARBARA SOSA,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 8:12-cv-176-T-33TBM

MICHAEL J. ASTRUE,
Commissioner of the United
States Social Security
Administration,
Defendant.
_______________________________/
ORDER
This matter is before the Court on consideration of
the Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate
Judge Thomas B. McCoun III (Doc. # 24), filed on January
25,

2013,

in

which

Judge

McCoun

recommends

that

the

decision of the Commissioner denying benefits be reversed
and

the

matter

remanded

for

further

consideration.

Specifically, Judge McCoun found that “the decision of the
Commissioner . . . is not supported by substantial evidence
or is not in accordance with the correct legal standards,”
and recommends that the case be “remanded to the Appeals
Council . . . for further evaluation of the opinions of Dr.
Torres, [a treating physician,] including the post-hearing
evidence,

in

conjunction

with

all

the

evidence

in

the

record.”

Id.

at

16.

As

of

this

date,

there

are

no

objections to the Report and Recommendation, and the time
for the parties to file such objections has elapsed.
After conducting a careful and complete review of the
findings and recommendations, a district judge may accept,
reject

or

modify

recommendation.

28

the

magistrate

U.S.C.

§

judge’s

636(b)(1);

report

and

Williams

v.

Wainwright, 681 F.2d 732 (11th Cir. 1982), cert. denied,
459

U.S.

1112

(1983).

In

the

absence

of

specific

objections, there is no requirement that a district judge
review factual findings de novo, Garvey v. Vaughn, 993 F.2d
776, 779 n.9 (11th Cir. 1993), and the court may accept,
reject or modify, in whole or in part, the findings and
recommendations. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C).

The district

judge

even

reviews

legal

conclusions

absence of an objection.

de

novo,

in

the

See Cooper-Houston v. S. Ry. Co.,

37 F.3d 603, 604 (11th Cir. 1994);

Castro Bobadilla v.

Reno, 826 F. Supp. 1428, 1431-32 (S.D. Fla. 1993), aff’d,
28 F.3d 116 (11th Cir. 1994).
After conducting a careful and complete review of the
findings, conclusions and recommendations, and giving
novo

review

to

matters

of

law,

2

the

Court

accepts

de
the

factual findings, legal conclusions, and the recommendation
of Judge McCoun.
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED:
(1)

The Report and Recommendation of the Honorable Thomas
B. McCoun III, United States Magistrate Judge (Doc. #
24), is ACCEPTED and ADOPTED.

(2)

The decision of the Commissioner of Social Security
denying

benefits

is

REVERSED

and

this

matter

is

REMANDED for further proceedings.
(3)

The Clerk is directed to enter judgment in favor of
the

Plaintiff

decision

denying

reflecting
benefits

that
is

the

reversed

Commissioner’s
and

remanded,

and thereafter to close this case.
DONE and ORDERED in Chambers in Tampa, Florida, this
12th day of February, 2013.

Copies: All Counsel of Record

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