Goldblatt v. Berryhill
Filing
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ORDER that the R&R (ECF No. 18 ) is accepted and adopted in full; Plaintiff's Motion to Remand (ECF No. 14 ) is granted in part consistent with the R&R; This case is remanded for the ALJ to properly evaluate the opinion of Dr. Mumford; Defendant's Motion to Affirm (ECF No. 15 ) is denied; Clerk directed to enter judgment and close this case. Signed by Judge Miranda M. Du on 10/15/2018. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - LH)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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***
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Case No. 2:17-cv-02193-MMD-VCF
HAL GOLDBLATT,
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Plaintiff,
v.
ORDER ACCEPTING REPORT AND
RECOMMENDATION
NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting
Commissioner of Social Security,
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Defendant.
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Before
the
Court
is
Magistrate
Judge
Cam
Ferenbach’s
Report
and
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Recommendation (“R&R”) (ECF No. 18), regarding Hal Goldblatt’s motion for reversal
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and/or remand (“Motion to Remand”) (ECF No. 14) and Defendant Nancy A. Berryhill’s
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crossmotion to affirm the agency decision (“Motion to Affirm”) (ECF No. 15). Plaintiff did
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not respond to the Motion to Affirm, though Defendant responded to Plaintiff’s Motion to
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Remand (ECF No. 16). Judge Ferenbach entered the R&R on August 21, 2018. The Court
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allowed the parties to file any objections by September 4, 2018. (ECF No. 18.) No
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objections were filed.
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This Court “may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or
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recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Where a party
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timely objects to a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, then the court is
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required to “make a de novo determination of those portions of the [report and
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recommendation] to which objection is made.” Id. Where a party fails to object, however,
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the court is not required to conduct “any review at all . . . of any issue that is not the subject
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of an objection.” Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 149 (1985). Indeed, the Ninth Circuit has
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recognized that a district court is not required to review a magistrate judge’s report and
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recommendation where no objections have been filed. See United States v. Reyna-Tapia,
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328 F.3d 1114 (9th Cir. 2003) (disregarding the standard of review employed by the district
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court when reviewing a report and recommendation to which no objections were made);
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see also Schmidt v. Johnstone, 263 F. Supp. 2d 1219, 1226 (D. Ariz. 2003) (reading the
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Ninth Circuit’s decision in Reyna-Tapia as adopting the view that district courts are not
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required to review “any issue that is not the subject of an objection”). Thus, if there is no
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objection to a magistrate judge’s recommendation, then the court may accept the
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recommendation without review. See, e.g., Johnstone, 263 F. Supp. 2d at 1226
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(accepting, without review, a magistrate judge’s recommendation to which no objection
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was filed).
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Nevertheless, this Court finds it appropriate to engage in a de novo review in order
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to determine whether to adopt the R&R. Judge Ferenbach found that the ALJ erred in
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evaluating a doctor’s (Dr. Mumford) consultative examination of Plaintiff by incorrectly
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stating that the doctor opined Plaintiff could sit for six hours in a workday, rather than four.
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(ECF No. 18 at 3.) Judge Ferenbach further found that the error was not harmless because
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the doctor’s opinion—if correctly considered—could “cause the ALJ in this case to re-
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evaluate his findings.” (Id. at 4.) Judge Ferenbach thus recommended that the Court grant
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Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand in part and deny Defendant’s Motion to Affirm. (Id. at 6.)
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Upon review of the R&R and the record in this case, the Court determines that it is
appropriate to adopt the R&R in full.
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It is therefore ordered that the R&R (ECF No. 18) is accepted and adopted in full.
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Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand (ECF No. 14) is granted in part consistent with the R&R. This
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case is remanded for the ALJ to properly evaluate the opinion of Dr. Mumford.
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It is further ordered that Defendant’s Motion to Affirm (ECF No. 15) is denied.
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It is further ordered that the Clerk enter judgment in accordance with this order and
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close this case.
DATED THIS 15th day of October 2018.
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MIRANDA M. DU
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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