UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

SOUTHERN DIVISION

LAURA STRZELECKI,

Plaintiff,

Case No. 08-15171

v. Hon. Gerald E. Rosen

Magistrate Judge Charles E. Binder

COMMISSIONER OF

SOCIAL SECURITY,

Defendant.

_______________________________/

ORDER ADOPTING

MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

At a session of said Court, held in

the U.S. Courthouse, Detroit, Michigan

on January 26, 2012 

PRESENT: Honorable Gerald E. Rosen

Chief Judge, United States District Court

On October 12, 2011, Magistrate Judge Charles E. Binder issued a Report and

Recommendation (“R & R”) recommending that the Court grant the Defendant

Commissioner of Social Security’s motion for summary judgment and deny Plaintiff

Laura Strzelecki’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, has filed

objections to the R & R, and the Defendant Commissioner has filed a response to these

objections. Having reviewed the R & R, Plaintiff’s objections, the parties’ underlying

cross-motions for summary judgment, and the remainder of the record, the Court finds

that the R & R should be adopted in its entirety.

2:08-cv-15171-GER-CEB Doc # 36 Filed 01/26/12 Pg 1 of 3 Pg ID 1704
1

As noted in the R & R, Plaintiff partially prevailed in her claim for benefits, securing an

administrative decision that she was entitled to Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) benefits

for a period of disability commencing after January 30, 2009. Only her entitlement to benefits

for the period prior to June 30, 2004 is at issue in this case.

2

The Court notes that Plaintiff was represented by counsel in the administrative

proceedings.

2

Plaintiff’s objections to the R & R consist of a two-page statement, some

handwritten notes on a copy of the R & R, and roughly 160 pages of records that she

evidently views as bearing upon her claim for disability benefits. In essence, Plaintiff

appears to contend that these materials establish her entitlement to benefits for the period

from February 24, 2002 to June 30, 2004.1

 Yet, to the extent that these records were

produced in the course of the administrative proceedings, the Administrative Law Judge

(“ALJ”) addressed these materials in finding that Plaintiff was not disabled during the

relevant time period,2

 and the Magistrate Judge has concluded that substantial evidence

supports the ALJ’s decision on this point.

In her present objections, Plaintiff does not identify any specific infirmities in the

Magistrate Judge’s analysis or the underlying decision of the ALJ, but merely expresses

her generalized disagreement with the R & R’s findings and her belief that she was, in

fact, disabled during the relevant period. Such conclusory assertions that the record

somehow establishes Plaintiff’s entitlement to disability benefits, without any explanation

as to how the ALJ might have erred in evaluating this record or in applying the pertinent

legal standards, do not provide a basis for disturbing the Magistrate Judge’s analysis and

conclusions in the R & R. Moreover, to the extent that Plaintiff seeks to rely on materials

2:08-cv-15171-GER-CEB Doc # 36 Filed 01/26/12 Pg 2 of 3 Pg ID 1705
3

that were not a part of the administrative record, she has not established good cause for

the failure to produce these materials in the course of the administrative proceedings, nor

has she shown that these additional documents qualify as new and material evidence that

would warrant a remand for further administrative proceedings. See 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). 

In short, Plaintiff’s bare dissatisfaction with the Magistrate Judge’s reasoning and

recommendations cannot serve as a basis for rejecting the R & R. 

Accordingly,

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Magistrate Judge’s

October 12, 2011 Report and Recommendation is ADOPTED as the opinion of this

Court. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, for the reasons stated in the R & R,

Defendant’s motion for summary judgment (docket #32) is GRANTED, and Plaintiff’s

motion for summary judgment (docket #26) is DENIED.

s/Gerald E. Rosen 

Chief Judge, United States District Court

Dated: January 26, 2012

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon counsel of record

on January 26, 2012, by electronic mail and upon Laura Strzelecki, 9615 E. Beecher

Road, Pittsford, MI 49271-8603 by ordinary mail.

s/Ruth A. Gunther 

Case Manager

2:08-cv-15171-GER-CEB Doc # 36 Filed 01/26/12 Pg 3 of 3 Pg ID 1706