Gaines v. COLVIN

Filing 21

ORDER Adopting 20 Report and Recommendation, Granting Commissioner's 18 Motion for Summary Judgment, Denying Plaintiff's 15 Motion for Summary Judgment, and Affirming the Decision of the Commissioner. Signed by District Judge Thomas L. Ludington. (KWin)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
NORTHERN DIVISION
MICHAEL GAINES,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 16-cv-12793
Honorable Thomas L. Ludington
Magistrate Judge Patricia T. Morris

SOCIAL SECURITY, COMMISSIONER OF,
Defendants.
__________________________________________/
ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION, GRANTING
COMMISSONER’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND AFFIRMING THE DECISION OF THE
COMMISSIONER
On November 13, 2013, Michael Gaines applied for disability insurance benefits under
the Social Security Act. A Social Security Administration Commissioner denied his claim as did
an Administrative Law Judge. The Appeals Council denied review. On July 29, 2016, Gaines
filed a complaint seeking judicial review of the Commissioner’s final decision. ECF No. 1. The
case was referred to Magistrate Judge Patricia T. Morris. ECF No. 4. On November 7, 2016,
Gaines filed a motion for summary judgment. On February 6, 2017, the Commissioner filed a
motion for summary judgment. ECF No. 18. Several months later, Judge Morris issued a report
recommending that the Commissioner’s motion for summary judgment be granted and Gaines’s
motion for summary judgment be denied. ECF No. 20. Specifically, Judge Morris found that the
ALJ properly evaluated the opinion of a non-treating psychologist and properly evaluated
Gaines’s credibility.
Although the Magistrate Judge’s report explicitly stated that the parties to this action may
object to and seek review of the recommendation within fourteen days of service of the report,

neither Plaintiff nor Defendant filed any objections. The election not to file objections to the
Magistrate Judge’s report releases the Court from its duty to independently review the record.
Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 149 (1985). The failure to file objections to the report and
recommendation waives any further right to appeal.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation,
ECF No. 20, is ADOPTED.
It is further ORDERED that Defendant Commissioner’s motion for summary judgment,
ECF No. 18, is GRANTED.
It is further ORDERED that Plaintiff Gaines’s motion for summary judgment, ECF No.
15, is DENIED.
It is further ORDERED that the Commissioner of Social Security’s decision is
AFFIRMED.

Dated: May 16, 2017

s/Thomas L. Ludington
THOMAS L. LUDINGTON
United States District Judge

PROOF OF SERVICE
The undersigned certifies that a copy of the foregoing order was served
upon each attorney or party of record herein by electronic means or first
class U.S. mail on May 16, 2017.
s/Kelly Winslow
KELLY WINSLOW, Case Manager

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