Foster v. Commissioner of Social Security

• Court: District Court, N.D. Iowa
• Decided: February 9, 2022
• Docket: 6:20-cv-02058
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA EASTERN DIVISION

THOMAS FOSTER, No. 20-CV-2058-LRR Plaintiff, vs. ORDER COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY,

Defendant. ___________________________

The matter before the court is United States Magistrate Judge Mark A. Roberts’s Report and Recommendation (docket no. 17). The Report and Recommendation recommends that the court affirm in part and remand in part Defendant Commissioner of Social Security’s (“Commissioner”) final decision denying Plaintiff Thomas Foster’s application for Title II disability insurance benefits. On August 13, 2020, Foster filed a Complaint (docket no. 1) requesting judicial review of the Commissioner’s decision to deny his application for disability insurance benefits. On March 9, 2021, after receiving multiple extensions to file an answer, see docket nos. 6 & 8, the Commissioner filed the Answer (docket no. 9). The matter was briefed, and, on July 23, 2021, was referred to Judge Roberts for issuance of a report and recommendation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B). See Plaintiff’s Brief (docket no. 13); Defendant’s Brief (docket no. 14); Plaintiff’s Reply (docket no. 15). On January 25, 2022, Judge Roberts issued the Report and Recommendation. In the Report and Recommendation, Judge Roberts advised the parties that they “must file objections to this Report and Recommendation within fourteen (14) days of service of a copy of this Report and Recommendation, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 72” and “[f]ailure to object to the Report and Recommendation waives the right to de novo review by the [d]istrict [c]ourt of any portion of the Report and Recommendation as well as the right to appeal from the findings of fact contained therein.” Report and Recommendation at 61 (citation omitted). Neither party has filed objections to the Report and Recommendation, and the time for doing so has passed. Pursuant to statute, this court’s standard of review for a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation is as follows: A judge of the court shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made. A judge of the court 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). Similarly, Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b) provides for de novo review of a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation on dispositive motions when objections are made. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3). The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that it is reversible error for a district court to fail to conduct a de novo review of a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation when such review is required. See, e.g., United States v. Lothridge, 324 F.3d 599, 600 (8th Cir. 2003). The court reviews the unobjected-to portions of the proposed findings or report and recommendation for “plain error.” See United States v. Rodriguez, 484 F.3d 1006, 1010-11 (8th Cir. 2007) (noting that, where a party does not file objections to a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, the party waives the right to de novo review and the court will review the decision for plain error). In this case, no objections have been filed, and it appears to the court upon review of Judge Roberts’s findings and conclusions that there is no ground to reject or modify them. Therefore, the court ACCPETS Judge Roberts’s Report and Recommendation of January 25, 2022. Accordingly, the Report and Recommendation (docket no. 17) is ADOPTED and the final decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED in part and REMANDED in part for further evaluation of the state agency reviewing psychiatrists’ opinions under 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520c(b)(2) in accordance with the Report and Recommendation. IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED this 9th day of February, 2022. Ate R. Qe JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA