Carolyn A. Malone v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA CAROLYN A. MALONE, ) ) Plaintiff, ) Case No. 1:25-cv-47 ) v. ) Judge Atchley ) COMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY ) Magistrate Judge Poplin ADMINISTRATION, ) ) ) Defendant. ) ORDER On February 4, 2026, United States Magistrate Judge Debra C. Poplin filed a Report and Recommendation [Doc. 25] pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636 and the Rules of this Court. The Magistrate Judge recommends that (1) Plaintiff’s request for remand [Doc. 16] be granted, (2) the Court remand this matter for further administrative proceedings, and (3) the Commissioner’s “Motion for Entry of Judgment with Remand Under Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) in Response to Plaintiff’s Opening Brief” [Doc. 22] be denied to the extent it seeks to limit the scope of the remand. No party has filed an objection to the Report and Recommendation.1 The Court has nonetheless reviewed the Report and Recommendation, as well as the record, and agrees with Magistrate Judge Poplin’s well-reasoned conclusions.

1 The Magistrate Judge advised that the parties had 14 days in which to object to the Report and Recommendation and that failure to do so would waive any right to appeal. (Doc. 25 at 11 n.2); see FED. R. CIV. P. 72(b)(2); see also Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 148-51 (1985) (“It does not appear that Congress intended to require district court review of a magistrate judge’s factual or legal conclusions, under a de novo or any other standard, when neither party objects to those findings.”).

Accordingly, the Court ACCEPTS and ADOPTS Magistrate Judge Poplin’s findings of fact and conclusions of law as set forth in the Report and Recommendation [Doc. 25]. Plaintiff’s request for remand [Doc. 16] is GRANTED, and the Commissioner’s motion [Doc. 22] is DENIED to the extent it seeks to limit the scope of the remand. The Court hereby enters a judgment under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), reversing the Commissioner’s decision with a remand of the cause to the Commissioner according to the following terms. See Shalala v. Schaefer, 509 U.S. 292, 296 (1993); Melkonyan v. Sullivan, 501 U.S. 89, 97–98 (1991).

Upon receipt of the Court’s remand order, the Commissioner SHALL take further action to update the administrative record, offer Plaintiff the opportunity for a hearing, and issue a new decision. A separate judgment will enter.

SO ORDERED. /s/ Charles E. Atchley, Jr. CHARLES E. ATCHLEY, JR. UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE