[DO NOT PUBLISH]

In the

United States Court of Appeals

For the Eleventh Circuit

____________________

No. 23-12796

Non-Argument Calendar

____________________

BROOKS RICH, 

Plaintiff-Appellant,

versus

COMMISSIONER, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, 

Defendant-Appellee.

____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Florida

D.C. Docket No. 2:22-cv-14334-SMM

____________________

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2 Opinion of the Court 23-12796

Before NEWSOM, TJOFLAT, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Brooks Rich appeals the District Court’s order affirming the 

Social Security Commissioner’s denial of his application for supplemental security income benefits (SSI), period of disability and disability insurance benefits (DIB), and child’s insurance benefits (CIB). 

Rich argues that the administrative law judge (ALJ) erred as a matter of law by failing to evaluate the persuasiveness of his psychologist’s work recommendations within the psychologist’s neuropsychological evaluation. For the reasons below, we agree with Rich.

I. Background

In December 2019, 33-year-old Rich applied for SSI. In February 2020, he applied for a period of disability and DIB, and in 

October 2020, he protectively applied for CIB. His alleged onset 

date was his date of birth, January 12, 1986, alleging that he had 

cerebral palsy and attention deficit disorder. His applications were 

denied in 2020 and again upon reconsideration. He then requested 

a hearing before an ALJ. Before the hearing, Rich submitted a neuropsychological evaluation report by Dr. Eileen Messing, a licensed 

psychologist, which is the only relevant medical record for his appeal.

Dr. Messing’s report, which has Rich’s name at the top of 

every page, notesthat he has a history of cerebral palsy and ADHD. 

Her diagnostic impressions of Rich include major neurocognitive 

history due to cerebral palsy, ADHD, and specific learning disorder 

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23-12796 Opinion of the Court 3

with impairment in mathematics. She recommended sharing the 

report with HR for work accommodations1 and summarized referral information from Rich’s neurologist, as well as Rich’s medical, 

educational, and vocational history. Dr. Messing also listed the tests 

she administered, included Rich’sresults, assessed his performance, 

and reported his overall intellectual functioning. 

Dr. Messing concluded her report with recommendations 

for managing neurocognitive disorder and ADHD in the workplace. She recommended Rich have more time for tasks, a structured and less stressful work environment, use time management 

aids, and a flexible or part-time schedule.

The ALJ issued a decision, finding Rich not disabled and 

denying his applications for CIB and SSI. The ALJ discussed his

findings on Rich’s residual functional capacity (RFC). The ALJ 

found the following: Rich had the RFC to perform medium work, 

except that he could frequently use his left arm in any direction and 

frequently finger with his bilateral hands; there were no postural

limitations; he must avoid concentrated exposure to vibrations and 

hazards; and he was limited to simple and repetitive tasks and occasional changes to work settings. 

Within this section, the ALJ summarized the medical records he reviewed and evaluated their persuasiveness. The ALJ referenced Dr. Messing’s report in one paragraph, stating as follows:

1 At the time of the evaluation, Rich worked as an office assistant at a psychology office. 

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Dr. Silvers referred the claimant to Eileen Messing, 

Psy.D., on March 15, 2019 for a neuropsychological 

evaluation. The claimant presented independently 

for the interview. He reported being in good health 

aside from the cerebral palsy diagnosis. He presented 

with an abnormal, but independent gait. He took no 

daily medications. He denied a history of mood disorder, but presented with a longstanding history of

ADHD diagnosis. The claimant reported that he was 

working on a full-time basis as an office assistant at a 

psychology office. He further reported that he 

worked as an office assistant for the past few years.

The claimant also reported part-time work history as 

an aftercare counselor and a sailing instructor. Dr. 

Messing documented that the previous neuropsychological testing indicated that the claimant has a neurocognitive disorder. Dr. Messing diagnosed the 

claimant with major neurocognitive disorder due to 

another medical condition (cerebral palsy) without 

behavioral disturbance; ADHD, predominantly inattentive presentation (by history); and specific learning 

disorder with impairment in mathematics (by history). Once again, while objective findings confirm 

the presence of severe impairments, the level of severity indicated by the clinical findings does not substantiate the claimant’s subjective allegations.

After granting Rich’s request for review, the Appeals Council 

(AC) adopted the ALJ’s findings and conclusions regarding Rich’s 

claimed disability and “adopt[ed] the findings of persuasiveness 

identified for each opinion as specified in the hearing decision.” 

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The AC added its own findings on Rich’s application for period of 

disability benefits and DIB, without any discussion of the medical 

records, and the AC ultimately concluded that Rich was not entitled to a period of disability benefits or DIB, CIB, or SSI. 

Rich petitioned the District Court for review of the ALJ’s decision. A magistrate judge affirmed the Commissioner’s decision 

to deny Rich’s applications.2 Rich timely appealed. 

II. Legal Standard

We review “de novo the Commissioner’s conclusions of law.” 

Ingram v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 496 F.3d 1253, 1260 (11th Cir. 

2007). The Commissioner’s “failure to apply the correct law or to 

provide the reviewing court with sufficient reasoning for determining that the proper legal analysis has been conducted mandates reversal.” Id. (citation omitted). “The ALJ has a basic duty to develop 

a full and fair record.” Henry v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 802 F.3d 1264, 

1267 (11th Cir. 2015) (per curiam). We may not “decide the facts 

anew, make credibility determinations, or re-weigh the evidence.” 

Id. (alterations adopted and citation omitted).

Further, a party abandons an issue when he fails to raise it 

plainly and prominently on appeal. See Sapuppo v. Allstate Floridian 

2 Because we review the Commissioner’s final decision and “neither defer to 

nor consider any errors in the district court’s opinion,” discussion of the district court proceedings, including the arguments and the court’s final order 

and rationale, has been limited. See Henry v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 802 F.3d 1264, 

1267 (11th Cir. 2015) (per curiam).

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Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 681 (11th Cir. 2014). Simply stating that an 

issue exists, without further argument or discussion, precludes our

consideration of that issue on appeal. Id. (quotation marks and citation omitted).

III. Discussion

Rich argues that the ALJ erred as a matter of law because 

the ALJ did not evaluate Dr. Messing’s medical opinions for supportability and consistency under the RFC analysis. He does not 

otherwise challenge the factual findings made by the ALJ. The 

Commissioner argues that the ALJ did not have to consider that

report because it was not a “medical opinion” under the regulations. The Commissioner does not otherwise argue that the ALJ 

nonetheless properly evaluated the persuasiveness of Dr. Messing’s 

report. The Commissioner also asserts in a sentence, without citations or supporting arguments, that substantial evidence supports 

the findings that Rich could perform other work existing in significant numbers in the national economy. 

The social security regulations outline a five-step process the 

ALJ must use to determine whether a claimant is disabled: 

(1) whether he is engaged in substantial gainful activity; (2) if not, 

whether he has a severe impairment or combination of impairments; (3) if so, whether that impairment, or combination of impairments, meets or equals the medical listings; (4) if not, whether 

he can perform his past relevant work in light of his RFC; and (5) if 

not, whether, based on his age, education, and work experience, he 

can perform other work found in the national economy. 20 C.F.R. 

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§ 404.1520(a)(4); Winschel v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 631 F.3d 1176, 1178 

(11th Cir. 2011).

At step four, the ALJ must determine whether the claimant 

has the RFC to perform past relevant work. 20 C.F.R. 

§ 404.1520(a)(4)(iv). RFC is an assessment of a claimant’s ability to 

work despite impairments. Id. § 404.1545(a)(1). In formulating an 

RFC, the ALJ examines all relevant medical and other evidence, including statements provided by medical sources and descriptions 

and observations of the limitations. Id. § 404.1545(a)(3).

For claims filed on or after March 27, 2017, a medical opinion 

“is a statement from a medical source about what [the claimant] 

can still do despite [the claimant’s] impairment(s) and whether [the 

claimant has] one or more impairment-related limitations or restrictions” in certain enumerated abilities. Id. § 404.1513(a)(2).3 

The ALJ must “not defer or give any specific evidentiary weight, 

3 These include the “ability to perform physical demands of work activities, 

such as sitting, standing, walking, lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, or other 

physical functions (including manipulative or postural functions, such as 

reaching, handling, stooping, or crouching)”; the “ability to perform mental 

demands of work activities, such as understanding; remembering; maintaining concentration, persistence, or pace; carrying out instructions; or responding appropriately to supervision, co-workers, or work pressures in a work setting”; the “ability to perform other demands of work, such as seeing, hearing, 

or using other senses”; and the “ability to adapt to environmental conditions, 

such as temperature extremes or fumes.” Id. § 404.1513(a)(2).

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including controlling weight, to any medical opinion(s) . . . including those from [the claimant’s] medical sources.” Id. 

§ 404.1520c(a). Instead, the ALJ should consider medical opinions 

using the factors listed in paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(5). See 

id. 404.1520c(a). Those factors are (1) supportability; (2) consistency; (3) relationship with the claimant, including length of the 

treatment relationship, frequency of examinations, purpose of the 

treatment relationship, extent of the treatment relationship, and examining relationship; (4) specialization; and (5) “other factors that 

tend to support or contradict a medical opinion or prior administrative medical finding.” Id. § 404.1520c(c).

The most important factors ALJs must consider when evaluating the persuasiveness of medical opinions are supportability 

and consistency. Id. § 404.1520c(a). For supportability, “[t]he more 

relevant the objective medical evidence and supporting explanations presented by a medical source are to support his or her medical opinions . . . the more persuasive the medical opinions . . . will 

be.” Id. § 404.1520c(c)(1). For consistency, “[t]he more consistent 

a medical opinion(s) . . . is with the evidence from other medical 

sources and nonmedical sources in the claim, the more persuasive 

the medical opinion(s) . . . will be.” Id. § 404.1520c(c)(2). The ALJ 

must explain how he analyzed the supportability and consistency 

of a medical source’s opinion. Id. § 404.1520c(b)(2).

As an initial matter, any issues on the ALJ’s factual findings 

or whether substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s decision are 

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abandoned because neither party raises such issues plainly and 

prominently on appeal. Thus, we need not consider them.

As for Dr. Messing’s work recommendations, they are medical opinions as defined in the regulations because she tailored 

those recommendations to Rich’s diagnoses of neurocognitive disorder and ADHD by addressing his impairment-related limitations

and what he could do at work based on his diagnoses. Her recommendations related to his “ability to perform mental demands of 

work activities.” See id. § 404.1513(a)(2); Id. § 416.913(a)(2). She 

recommended that Rich has more time to complete work commitments and that he be aware of potential ineffective time management to help him fix such an issue. She also recommended a job 

with more structure, less stress, a slower pace, and fewer operating 

variables to avoid creating more anxiety, indicating that he could 

work at jobs with those characteristics. She further recommended 

that he have a notepad on his desk to keep track of his activities so 

that if he were to be interrupted, he could get back to the task at 

hand. 

Accordingly, we reject the Commissioner’s argument that 

Dr. Messing’s recommendations were just generalized statements. 

The Commissioner argues that Dr. Messing used terms like individuals and adults rather than repeatedly using Rich’s name, but 

that is an overly narrow and technical reading of the document. 

Rich’s name was on every page. Further, the recommendations 

that used the terms adult and individual were for conditions that 

Dr. Messing diagnosed Rich as having. The Commissioner’s 

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argument to narrowly read the document in question would run 

counter to the ALJ’s responsibility to develop a full and fair record.

Because Dr. Messing’s work recommendations are medical 

opinions, the ALJ was required to evaluate their persuasiveness, 

specifically as to their supportability and consistency. Though the 

ALJ summarized Dr. Messing’s observations and Rich’s test results, 

the ALJ did not mention her work recommendations anywhere under the RFC analysis. Considering that RFC is an assessment of a 

claimant’s ability to work despite impairments, Dr. Messing’s 

work-related recommendations could have affected a finding of 

whether Rich could or could not work despite his impairments. 

The ALJ only addressed her “objective findings” and “clinical findings,” not supportability or consistency. As such, the ALJ did not 

properly evaluate the persuasiveness of Dr. Messing’s report, particularly as it pertains to her recommendations. Thus, we lack sufficient reasoning to determine that the proper legal analysis had 

been conducted as required under § 404.1520c.

IV. Conclusion

Based on the above, we REVERSE the magistrate judge’s 

decision and REMAND to the District Court with instructions to 

vacate the Commissioner’s decision and to remand to the Commissioner for further proceedings.

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