McKean v. Colvin

Filing 21

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT 19 of Magistrate Judge Cohn, directing Clrk of Ct to enter jdgmt in favor of McKean & against Commissioner as follows... Commissioner's decision denying McKean's app for disability ins benefits is VACATED - matter R EMANDED to Commissioner w/ instructions to conduct new admin hrg, develop record fully, & eval evidence appropriately in acc w/ this order & report 19 of MJ Cohn, & directing Clrk of Ct to CLOSE case. (See order for complete details.) Signed by Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner on 3/16/15. (ki)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
JOANNE MCKEAN,
Plaintiff
v.
CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Acting
Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant

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CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:13-CV-2585
(Chief Judge Conner)

ORDER
AND NOW, this 16th day of March, 2015, upon consideration of the report
(Doc. 19) of Magistrate Judge Gerald B. Cohn, recommending the court vacate the
decision of the administrative law judge (“ALJ”) and remand the above-captioned
matter for further proceedings with respect to the application for disability benefits
of plaintiff Joanne McKean, wherein Judge Cohn concludes that the ALJ’s decision
is not supported by substantial evidence, see 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) (requiring the ALJ’s
findings to be “supported by substantial evidence”), and finds that the ALJ’s failure
to adequately explain his rejection of certain medical opinions, failure to explain
credibility determinations, and impermissible reliance on a lay interpretation of
medical evidence prevent meaningful review of the ALJ’s decision, and it appearing
that neither plaintiff nor the Commissioner of Social Security (“Commissioner”)
have objected to the report, and that the Commissioner has expressly waived the
opportunity to do so, (see Doc. 20), and that there is no clear error on the face of the

record,1 see Nara v. Frank, 488 F.3d 187, 194 (3d Cir. 2007) (explaining that “failing
to timely object to [a report and recommendation] in a civil proceeding may result
in forfeiture of de novo review at the district court level”), it is hereby ORDERED
that:
1.

The report (Doc. 19) of Magistrate Judge Cohn is ADOPTED.

2.

The Clerk of Court shall enter judgment in favor of Joanne McKean
and against the Commissioner as set forth in the following paragraph.

1

When parties fail to timely object to a magistrate judge’s report and
recommendation, the Federal Magistrates Act does not require a district court to
review the report before accepting it. See Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 149 (1985).
As a matter of good practice, however, the Third Circuit expects courts to “afford
some level of review to dispositive legal issues raised by the report.” Henderson v.
Carlson, 812 F.2d 874, 878 (3d Cir. 1987). The advisory committee notes to Rule
72(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure indicate that “[w]hen no timely
objection is filed, the court need only satisfy itself that there is no clear error on the
face of the record in order to accept the recommendation.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b),
advisory committee notes; see also Henderson, 812 F.2d at 878-79 (stating that “the
failure of a party to object to a magistrate’s legal conclusions may result in the loss
of the right to de novo review in the district court”); Tice v. Wilson, 425 F. Supp. 2d
676, 680 (W.D. Pa. 2006) (holding that the court’s review is conducted under the
“plain error” standard); Cruz v. Chater, 990 F. Supp. 375-78 (M.D. Pa. 1998) (holding
that the court’s review is limited to ascertaining whether there is “clear error on the
face of the record”); Oldrati v. Apfel, 33 F. Supp. 2d 397, 399 (E.D. Pa. 1998) (holding
that the court will review the report and recommendation for “clear error”). The
court reviews the Magistrate Judge’s report in according with this Third Circuit
directive.
2

3.

The Commissioner’s decision denying Joanne McKean’s application
for disability insurance benefits is VACATED. This matter is
REMANDED to the Commissioner with instructions to conduct a new
administrative hearing, develop the record fully, and evaluate the
evidence appropriately in accordance with this order and the report
(Doc. 19) of Magistrate Judge Cohn.

4.

The Clerk of Court is directed to close this case.

/S/ CHRISTOPHER C. CONNER
Christopher C. Conner, Chief Judge
United States District Court
Middle District of Pennsylvania