Letourneau v. Social Security, Commissioner of ( 2022 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION SHANNON LETOURNEAU, Plaintiff, V. Case No. 20-13139 Honorable Denise Page Hood COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant. / ORDER ACCEPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION [#21] AND DISMISSING ACTION This matter comes before the Court on Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Stafford’s Report and Recommendation. [ECF No. 21] Plaintiff filed this action on November 30, 2020, asking this Court to review the Commissioner’s final decision to deny her claim for Disability Insurance Benefits. The Magistrate Judge entered the Report and Recommendation on May 24, 2022, wherein she recommended that the Court grant the Commissioner’s Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 17], deny Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 14], and dismiss Plaintiff’s cause of action. Neither party filed any objections to the Report and Recommendation. Judicial review of the Commissioner’s decision is limited in scope to determining whether the Commissioner employed the proper legal criteria in reaching her conclusion. Garner v. Heckler, 745 F.2d 383 (6th Cir. 1984). The credibility findings of an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) must not be discarded lightly and should be accorded great deference. Hardaway v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 823 F.2d 922, 928 (6th Cir. 1987). A district court’s review of an ALJ’s decision is not a de novo review. The district court may not resolve conflicts in the evidence nor decide questions of credibility. Garner, 745 F.2d at 397. The decision of the Commissioner must be upheld if it is supported by substantial evidence, even if the record might support a contrary decision or if the district court arrives at a different conclusion. Smith v. Secretary of HHS, 893 F.2d 106, 108 (6th Cir. 1984); Mullen v. Bowen, 800 F.2d 535, 545 (6th Cir. 1986). The Court has had an opportunity to review this matter and finds that the Magistrate Judge reached the correct conclusions for the proper reasons. Finding no error in the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation, the Court adopts the Report and Recommendation in its entirety. Furthermore, as neither party has raised an objection to the Report and Recommendation, the Court finds that the parties have waived any further objections to the Report and Recommendation. Smith v. Detroit Fed’n of Teachers Local 231, 829 F.2d 1370, 1373 (6th Cir. 1987) (a party’s failure to file any objections waives his or her right to further appeal); Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 149 (1985). For the reasons stated above, IT IS ORDERED that the Report and Recommendation [ECF No. 21, filed May 24, 2022] is ADOPTED as this Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 14, filed August 2, 2021] is DENIED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Commissioner’s Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 17, filed October 25, 2021] is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this action is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Judgment shall be entered separately. s/Denise Page Hood DENISE PAGE HOOD DATED: September 26, 2022 United States District Judge