Allen J. v. Saul
- Eric Tostrud
- 0:18-cv-00810
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Allen J. v. Saul, Judge Tostrud overruled objections, denied Allen J.’s motion, granted Saul’s motion, and dismissed the case with prejudice.
Allen J. and the Commissioner of Social Security, Andrew Saul.
What happened
Allen J. sued seeking Social Security disability benefits, and both sides asked for summary judgment. Magistrate Judge Steven E. Rau recommended denying Allen J.’s motion and granting the Commissioner’s motion. In Allen J. v. Saul, the court reviewed the recommendation after Allen J. objected.
The court independently reviewed the parts of the recommendation that Allen J. challenged and agreed with the recommendation’s analysis and conclusions on the arguments presented in the summary-judgment briefs. The court did not consider new arguments raised for the first time in the objections.
Judge Eric C. Tostrud overruled the objections, accepted the recommendation in full, denied Allen J.’s summary-judgment motion, granted the Commissioner’s summary-judgment motion, and dismissed the case with prejudice.
The detailed version
- Allen J. v. Saul · No. 0:18-cv-00810
- Eric Tostrud
- July 17, 2019
Background
Allen J. brought this action seeking Social Security disability benefits. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment, asking the court to rule based on the administrative record and written submissions.
The matter came before District Judge Eric C. Tostrud on a Report and Recommendation from Magistrate Judge Steven E. Rau. The magistrate judge recommended denying Allen J.’s motion and granting the motion filed by Andrew Saul, the Commissioner of Social Security. The opinion states that Saul was substituted for former Acting Commissioner Nancy Berryhill because a successor public officer is automatically substituted as a party.
Objections and Review
Allen J. objected to the Report and Recommendation, and the Commissioner responded. Because objections were filed, Judge Tostrud reviewed de novo—the court’s independent review of—the portions of the recommendation that Allen J. specifically challenged. The court agreed with the recommendation’s analysis and conclusions concerning the arguments presented in the parties’ summary-judgment briefs.
The court also stated that arguments raised for the first time in Allen J.’s objections were waived and would not be considered.
Ruling
Judge Eric C. Tostrud ordered that:
- Allen J.’s objections to the Report and Recommendation were overruled. - The Report and Recommendation was accepted in full. - Allen J.’s motion for summary judgment was denied. - The Commissioner’s motion for summary judgment was granted. - The matter was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the dismissal barred refiling the case.
The opinion does not explain the underlying disability-benefits analysis in detail; it primarily addresses acceptance of the magistrate judge’s recommendation and the parties’ motions and objections.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.