Leon v. SSA Commissioner
- Robert Illman
- 1:22-cv-05373
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 4
In Leon v. Dudek, Judge Illman granted counsel $26,422.55 in Social Security fees, payable from Leon’s past-due benefits.
Michael Leon and his attorney, Katherine Siegfried; the award is paid from Leon’s past-due Social Security benefits, and Siegfried must refund Leon $11,000 in previously awarded Equal Access to Justice Act fees.
What happened
In Michael Leon v. Leland Dudek, Michael Leon challenged the denial of his Social Security disability benefits. The court remanded the case, and the Commissioner later awarded Leon $105,690 in past-due benefits. Leon’s attorney, Katherine Siegfried, requested $26,422.55 under a law allowing court-approved fees from past-due benefits.
The court found the request reasonable because it matched Leon’s agreement to pay up to 25% of his past-due benefits, counsel obtained a favorable result, and there was no evidence of poor performance. The court also considered counsel’s 50.6 hours of work and the risk involved in accepting the case on a contingency-fee basis.
Judge Robert M. Illman granted the fee motion. The Commissioner must certify $26,422.55 for payment to Katherine Siegfried from Leon’s past-due benefits, subject to agency rules and any fees paid through another Social Security provision. Siegfried must refund Leon the previously awarded $11,000 in government-paid fees.
The detailed version
- Leon v. SSA Commissioner · No. 1:22-cv-05373
- Robert Illman
- May 14, 2025
Background
Michael Leon brought an action under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) seeking review of the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of his disability-benefits application. The court found in Leon’s favor and remanded the case for further proceedings. On remand, the Commissioner approved Leon’s application and awarded $105,690 in past-due benefits.
Leon had agreed to pay his attorney, Katherine Siegfried, up to 25% of any past-due benefits resulting from a favorable disability decision. Siegfried requested $26,422.55 in attorney fees under § 406(b) of the Social Security Act. The court had previously approved $11,000 in fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a separate fee statute.
Legal standard
Section 406(b) permits a federal court that entered a favorable judgment for a Social Security claimant represented by an attorney to approve a reasonable fee, capped at 25% of the claimant’s past-due benefits. The court must independently review the request for reasonableness, beginning with the contingency-fee agreement and considering the quality of the representation, the result achieved, delay, and whether the fee is disproportionate to the work performed.
When both § 406(b) fees and Equal Access to Justice Act fees have been awarded, the attorney must refund the smaller fee to the claimant so that the claimant does not pay both amounts without an offset.
Court’s ruling
The court found Siegfried’s request reasonable. The requested amount was within the 25% limit in Leon’s fee agreement, counsel obtained a favorable result that produced $105,690 in past-due benefits, and the court found no evidence of substandard performance. Siegfried reported spending 50.6 hours on the case, resulting in an effective hourly rate of $522. The court also considered the substantial risk of loss associated with representing Leon under a contingency-fee agreement.
The court GRANTED Plaintiff’s counsel’s motion for attorney fees. It directed the Commissioner to certify $26,422.55 under § 406(b), payable to Katherine Siegfried. The fees are to be paid from Leon’s past-due benefits in accordance with agency policy, to the extent those benefits are available and are not used to pay a fee under § 406(a). Siegfried was ordered to reimburse Leon the $11,000 previously awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.