Carey v. Colvin

Filing 22

MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by Judge Ellen L. Hollander on 6/23/14. (dass, Deputy Clerk)

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DA VlD DEAN CAREY
v.
COMMISSIONER,

SOCIAL SECURITY

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MEMORANDUM
On June 18,2013, this matter was referred to Magistrate Judge Stephanie Gallagher for a
Report and Recommendations
Report and Recommendations
Commissioner's

as to any dispositive motions. ECF 5. Judge Gallagher issued her
on April 29, 2014, in which she recommended

granting the

motion for summary judgment and denying the motion for summary judgment

filed by the Plaintiff, David Dean Carey.

ECF 19. Mr. Carey timely filed objections to the

Report and Recommendations.

In accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. neb),

ECF 20.

I have

reviewed the record and made a de novo determination of the issues to which the Report and
Recommendation

relates, including the objections lodged by Mr. Carey.

I am completely

persuaded that Judge Gallagher's recommended rulings are correct and reasonable.
Mr. Carey objects to the treatment of the opinions of two of his treating mental health
providers, who work for a practice that will not release treatment notes.
Administrative Law Judge ("AU")
affirmed the AU's

conclusion.

have made reasonable

PI. Obj. 1-4. The

assigned little weight to those opinions, and Judge Gallagher

ECF 19 at 5-6. While Mr. Carey contends that the AU should

efforts to recontact those mental health providers

to obtain more

information, he has not established that any such action was required under the governing
regulation at the time of the agency's adjudication.

See 20 C.F.R.

S

416.927(c)(3) (effective

June 13, 2011 to March 25, 2012) (requiring the AU to recontact a treating physician or take
other action only if the AU lacked sufficient evidence to decide the issue of disability).

In light

of all of the other evidence cited by the AU to support his conclusion, including treatment notes
from several other sources, I find that all of Judge Gallagher's proposed rulings, as reflected in
her thorough and careful analysis, are correct and reasonable, in every respect. Therefore, I adopt
her Report and Recommendations as my own opinion. A separate Order follows.

Dated:

,jp I ).31Ji

~'-I.~
Ellen Lipton Hollander
United States District Judge

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