Tasha N. v. O'Malley
- Jerry Blackwell
- 0:23-cv-02861
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Tasha N. v. O’Malley, Judge Blackwell granted Tasha N.’s motion for $6,859.13 in Equal Access to Justice Act attorney’s fees.
Tasha N., as parent and natural guardian of T.N., receives a $6,859.13 attorney’s-fee award subject to possible offset for qualifying preexisting debts owed to the United States; the government is affected as the opposing party.
What happened
In Tasha N. v. O’Malley, Tasha N., acting as the parent and natural guardian of T.N., asked the court to award attorney’s fees. The opinion addresses the fee request and does not describe the underlying dispute.
Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright issued a report and recommendation on June 10, 2024. No one objected by the deadline, so the district court reviewed the recommendation for clear error and found none.
Judge Jerry W. Blackwell accepted the recommendation and granted Tasha N.’s motion for attorney’s fees. The court awarded $6,859.13 under the Equal Access to Justice Act, payable to Tasha N. as the litigant and subject to offset for any qualifying preexisting debts owed to the United States.
The detailed version
- Tasha N. v. O'Malley · No. 0:23-cv-02861
- Jerry W. Blackwell
- July 9, 2024
Background
Tasha N., acting as the parent and natural guardian of T.N., filed a motion for attorney’s fees. The opinion does not provide details about the underlying Social Security dispute or the earlier ruling that led to the fee request.
Report and Recommendation
United States Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright issued a Report and Recommendation on June 10, 2024. No objections were filed within the permitted time. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b), the district court therefore reviewed the recommendation for clear error. The court found no clear error.
Ruling
Judge Jerry W. Blackwell accepted the Report and Recommendation and granted Plaintiff’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees. The court awarded $6,859.13 in reasonable attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a federal statute that permits certain fee awards against the government.
The award is payable to Tasha N. as the litigant. Under the court’s order and the cited Supreme Court decision, the award may be offset to satisfy any preexisting debts that Tasha N. owes to the United States.
Effect of the Order
The order resolves the attorney’s-fee motion. The opinion does not state the disposition of the underlying Social Security claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.