Tatum v. Colvin

Filing 16

DECISION AND ORDER accepting and adopting # 15 Report and Recommendation in its entirety. The Commissioner's determination is AFFIRMED, and the Plaintiff's complaint is DISMISSED. Signed by Chief Judge Glenn T. Suddaby on 2/23/16. (lmw)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
_____________________________________
CHRISTIAN LAQUONN TATUM,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 5:14-CV-1567
(GTS/WBC)

CAROLYN W. COLVIN,
Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant.
_____________________________________
APPEARANCES:

OF COUNSEL:

OLINSKY LAW GROUP
Counsel for Plaintiff
One Park Place
300 South State Street, Suite 420
Syracuse, NY 13202

HOWARD D. OLINSKY, ESQ.

U.S. SOCIAL SECURITY ADMIN.
OFFICE OF REG’L GEN. COUNSEL – REGION II
Counsel for Defendant
26 Federal Plaza, Room 3904
New York, NY 10278

DAVID L. BROWN, ESQ.

GLENN T. SUDDABY, Chief United States District Judge
DECISION and ORDER
Currently before the Court, in this Social Security action filed by Christian Laquonn
Tatum (“Plaintiff”) against the Commissioner of Social Security (“Defendant” or “the
Commissioner”) pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c)(3), is the Report and
Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge William B. Mitchell Carter, filed February
2, 2016, recommending that Plaintiff’s motion for judgment on the pleadings be denied, and that
Defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings be granted. (Dkt. No. 15.) Objections to the

Report and Recommendation have not been filed, and the time in which to do so has expired.
(See generally, Docket Sheet.)
A district court reviewing a magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation “may
accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the
magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C). Parties may raise objections to the magistrate
judge’s Report and Recommendation, but they must be “specific written objections,” and must
be submitted “[w]ithin 14 days after being served with a copy of the recommended disposition.”
Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(2); accord, 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C). When no objection is made to a
report and recommendation, the Court subjects that report and 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 and
citations omitted).
After carefully reviewing the relevant papers herein, including Magistrate Judge Carter’s
thorough Report and Recommendation, the Court can find no clear error in the Report and
Recommendation. Magistrate Judge Carter employed the proper standards, accurately recited
the facts, and reasonably applied the law to those facts. (Dkt. No. 15.)

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ACCORDINGLY, it is
ORDERED that Magistrate Judge Carter’s Report and Recommendation (Dkt. No. 15) is
ACCEPTED and ADOPTED in its entirety; and it is further
ORDERED that the Commissioner’s determination is AFFIRMED; and it is further
ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Complaint (Dkt. No. 1) is DISMISSED.
Dated: February 23, 2016
Syracuse, New York
____________________________________
Hon. Glenn T. Suddaby
Chief, U.S. District Judge

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