Derden v. Dudek
- Jon Tigar
- 4:24-cv-07987
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Derden v. Dudek, Judge Tigar ordered $7,000 in Equal Access to Justice Act attorney fees, subject to possible government debt offset.
Danielle Derden and her attorney, Katherine R. Siegfried, are affected by the $7,000 fee award and its payment conditions; the Commissioner of Social Security is responsible for processing payment subject to the stated offset and assignment rules.
What happened
In Derden v. Dudek, the parties jointly asked the court to approve a $7,000 settlement of Danielle Derden’s request for attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The stipulation said Derden was the prevailing party and had a net worth below $2 million.
The agreed fees belong to Derden and may be reduced if she owes a debt subject to the federal Treasury Offset Program. If the government confirms that no offset applies, accepts an assignment of the fees, and waives the assignment-law requirements, payment may be made to Derden’s attorney. Otherwise, any remaining amount will be paid to Derden but delivered to her attorney.
Judge Jon S. Tigar ordered the $7,000 fee award subject to the Treasury Offset Program and according to the payment terms in the stipulation. The agreement does not admit government liability and does not prevent the attorney from seeking separate fees under the Social Security Act.
The detailed version
- Derden v. Dudek · No. 4:24-cv-07987
- Jon Tigar
- June 26, 2025
Background
The parties submitted a joint stipulation asking the court to approve a $7,000 award of attorney fees to Danielle Derden under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). The stipulation stated that Derden was the prevailing party in the civil action and that her net worth was less than $2 million. The requested amount covered all legal services provided by Katherine R. Siegfried in connection with the action.
Fee payment terms
The parties stated that an Equal Access to Justice Act award belongs to the plaintiff and may be offset to pay qualifying debts through the federal Treasury Offset Program. After the court issued the fee order, the government would consider whether Derden had assigned the fees to her attorney, whether she owed a debt subject to offset, and whether the government would waive the requirements of the Anti-Assignment Act. If those conditions were met, the fees could be made payable to Derden’s attorney. If an offset applied, any remaining fees would be paid to Derden but delivered to her attorney.
The stipulation described the payment as a compromise settlement of the fee request and stated that it was not an admission of government liability. It also preserved the attorney’s ability to seek fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406, subject to the Equal Access to Justice Act’s savings provisions.
Ruling
Judge Jon S. Tigar ordered Equal Access to Justice Act attorney fees in the amount of $7,000. The order made the award subject to the Treasury Offset Program and directed that payment follow the method described in the parties’ stipulation.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.