Blinkovitch v. Colvin

Filing 17

DECISION AND ORDER accepting and adopting # 16 Magistrate Judge Carter's Report and Recommendation in its entirety. Plaintiff's # 11 motion for judgment on the pleadings is granted, Defendant's # 14 motion for judgment on the plea dings is denied, the Commissioner's decision denying Plaintiff Social Security benefits is REVERSED, and this matter is REMANDED to the Commissioner of Social Security for further proceedings under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). Signed by Chief Judge Glenn T. Suddaby on 2/28/17. (lmw)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
________________________________________
RONALD BLINKOVITCH,
Plaintiff,

3:15-CV-1196
(GTS/WBC)

v.
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY,
Defendant.
________________________________________
APPEARANCES:

OF COUNSEL:

LACHMAN & GORTON
Counsel for Plaintiff
P.O. Box 89
1500 East Main Street
Endicott, New York 13761

PETER A. GORTON, ESQ.

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
EMILY M. FISHMAN, ESQ.
OFFICE OF REG’L GEN. COUNSEL–REGION II
Counsel for Defendant
26 Federal Plaza, Room 3904
New York, New York 10278
GLENN T. SUDDABY, Chief United States District Judge
DECISION and ORDER
Currently before the Court, in this Social Security action filed by Ronald Blinkovitch
(“Plaintiff”) against the Commissioner of Social Security (“Defendant” or “the Commissioner”),
is the Report-Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge William B. Mitchell Carter
recommending that Plaintiff’s motion for judgment on the pleadings be granted, Defendant’s
motion for judgment on the pleadings be denied, the Commissioner’s decision denying Plaintiff
Social Security benefits be reversed, and this matter be remanded to the Commissioner of Social
Security for further proceedings under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). (Dkt. No. 16.)

Objections to the Report-Recommendation have not been filed and the time in which to do so
has expired. (See generally Docket Sheet.)
After carefully reviewing all of the papers in this action, including Magistrate Judge
Carter’s thorough Report-Recommendation, the Court can find no clear error in the ReportRecommendation.1 Magistrate Judge Carter employed the proper legal standards, accurately
recited the facts, and correctly applied the law to those facts. (Dkt. No. 16.) As a result, the
Report-Recommendation is accepted and adopted in its entirety; Plaintiff’s motion for judgment
on the pleadings is granted; Defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings is denied; the
Commissioner’s decision denying disability insurance benefits is reversed; and this matter is
remanded to the Commissioner of Social Security for further proceedings under sentence four of
42 U.S.C. § 405(g).
ACCORDINGLY, it is
ORDERED that Magistrate Judge Carter’s Report-Recommendation (Dkt. No. 16) is
ACCEPTED and ADOPTED in its entirety; and it is further
ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion for judgment on the pleadings (Dkt. No. 11) is
GRANTED, Defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings (Dkt. No. 14) is DENIED, the
Commissioner’s decision denying Plaintiff Social Security benefits is REVERSED, and this

1

When no objection is made to a report-recommendation, the Court subjects that
report-recommendation to only a “clear error” review. Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b), Advisory
Committee Notes: 1983 Addition. When performing such a clear error review, “the court need
only satisfy itself that there is no clear error on the face of the record in order to accept the
recommendation.” Id.; see also Batista v. Walker, 94-CV-2826, 1995 WL 453299, at *1
(S.D.N.Y. July 31, 1995) (Sotomayor, J.) (“I am permitted to adopt those sections of [a
magistrate judge’s] report to which no specific objection is made, so long as those sections are
not facially erroneous.”) (internal quotation marks omitted).
2

matter is REMANDED to the Commissioner of Social Security for further proceedings under
sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).
Dated: February 28, 2017
Syracuse, New York
____________________________________
HON. GLENN T. SUDDABY
Chief United States District Judge

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