Valentine v. Social Security Administration

Filing 23

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION: For the reasons stated in the show cause Order, the Magistrate Judge's Report (Doc. No. 14 ) is ADOPTED as modified by the Order and the Commissioner's Motion (Doc. No. 11 is GRANTED. The Clerk of the Court is directed to CLOSE the case. It is so ORDERED. Signed by Senior Judge John T. Nixon on 10/15/2015. (xc:Pro se party by regular and certified mail.)(DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(hb)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
NAI’QUESHA VALENTINE,
On behalf of T.J., Jr.,
Plaintiff,
v.
CAROLYN W. COLVIN,
Acting Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant.

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No. 3:14-cv-01904
Judge Nixon
Magistrate Judge Bryant

ORDER
Pending before the Court is the Commissioner’s Motion to Dismiss (“Motion”), in which she
requests the Court dismiss this matter because Plaintiff Nai’Quesha Valentine failed to timely file her
complaint. (Doc. No. 11.) On January 15, 2015, Magistrate Judge Bryant issued a Report and
Recommendation (“Report”) recommending that the Commissioner’s Motion be granted. (Doc. No. 14
at 3.) Upon consideration of Ms. Valentine’s statement opposing the Commissioner’s Motion (Doc. No.
16) and Objection to the Report (Doc. No. 19), this Court determined Ms. Valentine had not presented
sufficient “actual evidence showing that [she] received the [Social Security Administration’s] notice
after that grace period” and ordered Ms. Valentine to show cause within twenty-one days why the
Commissioner’s Motion should not be granted. (Doc. No. 20 at 3 (quoting Fleming v. Astrue, No. 12CV-11268, 2012 WL 6738473, at *3 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 29, 2012), report and recommendation adopted
sub nom. Fleming v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., No. 12-CV-11268-DT, 2012 WL 6738475 (E.D. Mich. Dec.
31, 2012)).) Ms. Valentine responded to the Order on October 2, 2015, stating she was unable to timely
file her complaint for “circumstances out of my control.” (Doc. No. 22 at 1.)
Upon review of the response, the Court finds Ms. Valentine still has not presented actual
evidence that she received the letter after the five-day grace period provided by the Social Security
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Administration’s regulations. Accordingly, Ms. Valentine has not met the “reasonable showing”
requirement necessary to excuse her failure to timely file her complaint and, for the reasons stated in the
show cause Order, the Magistrate Judge’s Report (Doc. No. 14) is ADOPTED as modified by the Order
and the Commissioner’s Motion (Doc. No. 11) is GRANTED. The Clerk of the Court is directed to
CLOSE the case.
It is so ORDERED.
Entered this the 15th day of October, 2015.

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JOHN T. NIXON, SENIOR JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

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