Kish J. v. Dudek
- Dulce Foster
- 0:24-cv-04190
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Kish J. v. Dudek, Judge Foster granted Kish J.’s fee motion and ordered $5,667.20 in attorney fees.
Kish J. and the government; the order also specifies how the attorney-fee payment is to be handled by Kish J.’s law firm.
What happened
In Kish J. v. Dudek, Kish J. asked for attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a federal law that can require the government to pay fees in certain cases. The government did not oppose the request.
The court granted the motion based on the parties’ agreement and ordered the government to pay $5,667.20. The payment may first be reduced to cover any qualifying debt Kish J. owes the United States.
Judge Dulce J. Foster entered the order on April 3, 2025. If no qualifying debt exists and the government waives the required payment restrictions, the fees may be paid to Kish J.’s law firm; otherwise, any remaining fees will be paid to Kish J., with the check delivered to the law firm.
The detailed version
- Kish J. v. Dudek · No. 0:24-cv-04190
- Dulce J. Foster
- Apr. 3, 2025
Background
Kish J. filed a motion seeking attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A). The government did not oppose the motion.
The order identifies Leland Dudek as the Acting Commissioner of Social Security. It states that the court substituted Dudek for the prior defendant under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d) and the Social Security Act.
Ruling
The court granted the fee motion based on the parties’ agreement. It ordered the government to pay Kish J. $5,667.20 in attorney fees.
Under the order, the fees may be offset—that is, reduced—to satisfy a qualifying preexisting debt Kish J. may owe the United States through the Treasury Offset Program. If the Commissioner determines that Kish J. owes no debt subject to offset and agrees to waive the Anti-Assignment Act’s requirements, the fees will be made payable to Livgard, Lloyd, & Christel PLLP, the law firm representing Kish J.’s attorney. If a qualifying debt exists and the Commissioner cannot waive those requirements, the remaining fees after the offset will be paid by check made out to Kish J. Any payment check must be delivered to the law firm at the address stated in the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.