Jocelyn Esquilin v. Commissioner of Social Security

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TAMPA DIVISION

JOCELYN ESQUILIN,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 8:25-cv-1057-KKM-LSG

COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY,

Defendant.

ORDER On January 16, 2026, the United States Magistrate Judge entered a Report and Recommendation, recommending that I grant the plaintiff’s unopposed motion for an $11,000 award of attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). R. & R. (Doc. 25). The fourteen-day deadline to object to the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation has passed without either party lodging an objection. Considering the record, I adopt the Report and Recommendation for the reasons stated therein and grant Esquilin’s motion. After conducting a careful and complete review of the findings and recommendations, a district judge may accept, reject, or modify a magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). If a party files a timely and specific objection to a finding of fact by a magistrate judge, the district court must conduct a de novo review with respect to that factual issue.

Stokes v. Singletary, 952 F.2d 1567, 1576 (11th Cir. 1992). The district court reviews legal conclusions de novo, even in the absence of an objection. See Cooper-Houston v. S. Ry. Co., 37 F.3d 603, 604 (11th Cir. 1994); Ashworth v. Glades Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Comm’rs, 379 F. Supp. 3d 1244, 1246 (M.D. Fla.

2019). In the absence of any objection and after reviewing the factual allegations and legal conclusions, I adopt the Report and Recommendation and grant Esquilin’s motion.

Accordingly, it is ORDERED: 1. The Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation (Doc. 25) is ADOPTED and made a part of this Order for all purposes. 2. Esquilin’s Unopposed Motion for Attorney’s Fees (Doc. 23) is

GRANTED. 3. The Clerk is directed to ENTER JUDGMENT in favor of Esquilin and against the Commissioner in the amount of $11,000 for attorney’s fees.

4. The Commissioner is directed to determine whether Esquilin owes a debt to the United States. If the United States Department of the Treasury determines that Esquilin does not owe such a debt, the Commissioner is directed to accept Esquilin’s assignment of Equal Access to Justice Act fees and pay the fees directly to Esquilin’s counsel. ORDERED in Tampa, Florida, on February 2, 2026.

a . imball Mizelle United States District Judge