Mantz v. Social Security Administration

Filing 37

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS. Adopting 35 Report and Recommendations., Granting 27 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim. Certificate of Appealability: No Ruling. Closing Case. Signed by Judge Robin L. Rosenberg on 7/19/2021. See attached document for full details. (cds)

Case 9:19-cv-81599-RLR Document 37 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/19/2021 Page 1 of 2

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO. 9:19-CV-81599-ROSENBERG/REINHART
ANNIE MANTZ o/b/o
ANTHONY JAY DUNKLEY, JR.
Plaintiff,
v.
ANDREW SAUL, Commissioner
of the Social Security Administration,
Defendant.
/
ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION,
GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS AMENDED COMPLAINT, AND CLOSING CASE
This matter is before the Court upon a Report and Recommendation on Defendant’s
Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint. DE 35. The case previously was referred to the
Honorable Bruce E. Reinhart, United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of
Florida, for a Report and Recommendation on any dispositive matters. DE 2. Judge Reinhart
issued the Report and Recommendation on May 4, 2021, recommending that Defendant’s
Motion to Dismiss be granted and that this case be dismissed for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction.
Plaintiff has not objected to the Report and Recommendation, and the time for filing
Objections has passed. Defendant filed a Limited Objection to the Report and Recommendation.
DE 36. Defendant objects to Judge Reinhart’s statement that Claimant “could have appealed the
[dismissal of his reconsideration request] to the next level by requesting a hearing before an
administrative law judge.” Id. at 2 (quoting DE 35 at 9). Defendant argues that “the claimant was

Case 9:19-cv-81599-RLR Document 37 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/19/2021 Page 2 of 2

not entitled to seek further review to complete the four-step appeal process because when the
agency dismissed his reconsideration request, he had no right to further appeal that dismissal.”
Id. at 2.
The Court has reviewed the Report and Recommendation, Defendant’s Limited
Objection, and the record and is otherwise fully advised in the premises. The Court finds Judge
Reinhart’s conclusions and recommendation to be well reasoned and correct and agrees with the
analysis in the Report and Recommendation. As to Defendant’s Limited Objection, regardless of
whether Claimant could have sought further review under Social Security Administration policy
at the administrative level, Claimant did not seek such review, and therefore this Court lacks
subject matter jurisdiction. See 42 U.S.C. § 405(g); Sims v. Apfel, 530 U.S. 103, 107 (2000).
Defendant’s Limited Objection to the Report and Recommendation is sustained, but the outcome
of the case remains unchanged.
For the foregoing reasons, it is hereby ORDERED and ADJUDGED that:
1. Magistrate Judge Reinhart’s Report and Recommendation [DE 35], supplemented by this
Order, is ADOPTED as the Order of the Court.
2. Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint [DE 27] is GRANTED. This
case is DISMISSED for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
3. Defendant’s Limited Objection [DE 36] is SUSTAINED.
4. The Clerk of the Court shall CLOSE THIS CASE. All deadlines are TERMINATED.
DONE and ORDERED in Chambers, West Palm Beach, Florida, this 19th day of July,
2021.
_______________________________
ROBIN L. ROSENBERG
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Copies furnished to:
Plaintiff; Counsel of Record

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