Lisa H. v. Kijakazi
- Elizabeth Wright
- 0:20-cv-02061
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 7
Lisa H. v. O’Malley: Judge Wright granted $11,854.50 in Social Security attorney fees and required counsel to refund $5,193.23.
Lisa H. receives the benefit of the approved fee award but must receive a $5,193.23 refund from her counsel. Counsel receives the $11,854.50 § 406(b) fee and must make that refund.
What happened
In Lisa H. v. Martin O’Malley, Lisa H. asked the court to approve $11,854.50 in attorney fees after her Social Security benefits were awarded following a remand. Her fee agreement provided for 25% of past-due benefits.
The Social Security Administration withheld money from Lisa H.’s past-due benefits for legal expenses. The government did not oppose or support the fee request but told the court that counsel would have to refund the smaller fee award if both court-awarded fees and Equal Access to Justice Act fees were paid.
The court granted the motion, awarded counsel $11,854.50, and required counsel to refund $5,193.23 to Lisa H., representing the earlier Equal Access to Justice Act award. Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright concluded that the requested fee was reasonable.
The detailed version
- Lisa H. v. Kijakazi · No. 0:20-cv-02061
- Elizabeth Wright
- Dec. 19, 2024
Background
Lisa H. filed this Social Security case on September 28, 2020. The case was remanded in March 2022, and Lisa H. was later awarded benefits. On September 7, 2022, the court awarded $5,193.23 in attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), plus $400 in costs.
The Social Security Administration later issued a notice awarding Lisa H. $76,218 in past-due benefits. It withheld 25% of those benefits for possible payment of legal expenses. Lisa H.’s counsel then moved under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) for $11,854.50 in attorney fees. Counsel calculated that amount by subtracting $7,200 sought under § 406(a) from the 25% fee amount.
Legal standard
Under § 406(b), a court may award a reasonable fee for an attorney’s work in federal court, up to 25% of the claimant’s past-due benefits. The court must independently determine whether a contingency-fee agreement produces a reasonable fee. A fee may be reduced if the representation was inadequate, counsel caused delay, or the benefits were large compared with the time spent.
When an attorney receives both an EAJA fee and a § 406(b) fee for the same work, the attorney must refund the smaller award to the claimant.
Court’s analysis
The court concluded that 25% of Lisa H.’s past-due benefits was $19,054.50. Counsel sought $11,854.50, which was below that 25% limit. Based on the time records, the requested fee represented an approximate hourly rate of $496 if 23.9 hours were used, or approximately $736.30 if 16.1 hours were used. The court found either rate reasonable in light of EAJA rates and prior decisions from the District of Minnesota approving comparable contingency fees.
The court also found no indication that counsel caused delay or that the benefits were unusually large compared with the time spent. It therefore found no reason to reduce the requested fee.
Disposition
The court GRANTED Lisa H.’s motion for attorney fees under § 406(b). It AWARDED counsel $11,854.50 in reasonable attorney fees and ordered counsel to refund $5,193.23 to Lisa H., representing the EAJA fees previously awarded to counsel.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.