Opinion
Case No. 2:11-cv-629-FtM-29SPC
02-11-2013
ANTHONY G. SCUILLA, Plaintiff, v. MICHAEL J. ASTRUE, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on consideration of Magistrate Judge Sheri Polster Chappell's Report and Recommendation (Doc. #20), filed on January 18, 2013, recommending that the Commissioner's decision to deny social security disability benefits be affirmed. No objections have been filed, and the time to do so has expired.
The Court reviews the Commissioner's decision to determine if it is supported by substantial evidence and based upon proper legal standards. Crawford v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 363 F.3d 1155, 1158 (11th Cir. 2004). Substantial evidence is more than a scintilla but less than a preponderance, and is such relevant evidence as a reasonable person would accept as adequate to support a conclusion. Moore v. Barnhart, 405 F.3d 1208, 1211 (11th Cir. 2005); Crawford, 363 F.3d at 1158. Even if the evidence preponderates against the Commissioner's findings, the Court must affirm if the decision reached is supported by substantial evidence. Crawford, 363 F.3d at 1158-59. The Court does not decide facts anew, make credibility judgments, reweigh the evidence, or substitute its judgment for that of the Commissioner. Moore, 405 F.3d at 1211; Dyer v. Barnhart, 395 F.3d 1206, 1210 (11th Cir. 2005). The magistrate judge, district judge and appellate judges all apply the same legal standards to the review of the Commissioner's decision. Dyer, 395 F.3d at 1210; Shinn v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 391 F.3d 1276, 1282 (11th Cir. 2004); Phillips v. Barnhart, 357 F.3d 1232, 1240 n.8 (11th Cir. 2004).
The Report and Recommendation recommends that plaintiff's arguments regarding the ALJ's residual functional capacity determinations and the need for a vocational expert be rejected. (Doc. #20, pp. 10-18.) After an independent review, the Court agrees with the findings, recommendations, and conclusion in the Report and Recommendation.
Accordingly, it is now
ORDERED:
1. The Report and Recommendation (Doc. #20) is accepted and adopted by the Court.
2. The Decision of the Commissioner of Social Security is AFFIRMED.
3. The Clerk of the Court shall enter judgment accordingly and close the file.
DONE AND ORDERED at Fort Myers, Florida, this 11th day of February, 2013.
________________________
JOHN E. STEELE
United States District Judge
Copies:
Hon. Sheri Polster Chappell
U.S. Magistrate Judge
Counsel of Record