Lameka M. v. Bisignano
- Dulce Foster
- 0:24-cv-03908
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Lameka M. v. Bisignano, Judge Foster approved $7,500 in attorney fees and denied Lameka M.’s larger fee motion as moot.
Lameka M., her attorney Laura S. Melnick, the Commissioner of Social Security, and the government entity responsible for paying the $7,500 award.
What happened
Lameka M. asked for $7,969.69 in attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a federal law that can reimburse eligible parties for legal costs against the government. The parties later agreed to a $7,500 award.
The court approved that agreement. It ordered the government to pay $7,500 in attorney fees and denied Lameka M.’s fee motion as moot.
Judge Dulce J. Foster also explained that the fees could be reduced to pay certain existing debts owed to the United States. Depending on that issue, payment may be made to Lameka M. or her attorney, Laura S. Melnick.
The detailed version
- Lameka M. v. Bisignano · No. 0:24-cv-03908
- Dulce J. Foster
- May 15, 2025
Background
The court considered Lameka M.’s application for attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A). She requested $7,969.69. After the court directed her attorney to complete the required meeting with defense counsel, Lameka M. filed the required statement. The parties then submitted a joint stipulation agreeing to a $7,500 fee award.
The opinion states that Frank Bisignano became Commissioner of Social Security on May 6, 2025, and substitutes him as the defendant under the applicable procedural rules. It does not decide the underlying Social Security dispute in this order.
Ruling
Based on the parties’ agreement, the court approved the joint stipulation and denied Lameka M.’s fee motion as moot. The government must pay $7,500 in attorney fees.
The court stated that the EAJA fees may be subject to an offset—meaning a reduction to satisfy a qualifying preexisting debt owed to the United States. If the Commissioner determines that Lameka M. has no debt subject to the Treasury Offset Program and waives the requirements of the Anti-Assignment Act, the fees are to be paid to her counsel, Laura S. Melnick. If such a debt exists, the remaining fees after the offset are to be paid by check made out to Lameka M. Any payment check must be delivered to her counsel’s law firm, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.