Hampton v. Kijakazi
- Paul Magnuson
- 0:22-cv-00670
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 3
In Aaron H. v. Bisignano, Judge Magnuson granted plaintiff's counsel $10,222.68 in attorney's fees from Social Security past-due benefits under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b).
Attorneys who represent Social Security disability claimants in federal court and seek attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), particularly those who have also received fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act for the same work.
What happened
In Aaron H. v. Bisignano (Civ. No. 22-670), a Social Security disability case in the District of Minnesota, plaintiff's counsel filed a motion seeking attorney's fees after winning past-due benefits for his client. The plaintiff was awarded past-due Title II benefits of $63,184 and past-due Title XVI benefits of $6,506.75. Federal law allows attorneys in Social Security cases to receive up to 25 percent of a client's past-due benefits as a fee, provided the court finds the amount reasonable.
Counsel calculated the requested fee by taking 25 percent of both benefit awards, subtracting $7,200 already received for work before the Social Security Administration, and arriving at a total of $10,222.68. He estimated his effective hourly rate at approximately $700 for 14.6 hours of work, which the court found consistent with rates approved in similar cases in the same district. The government did not oppose the fee request.
Judge Magnuson granted the motion and awarded $10,222.68 in attorney's fees, directing the defendant to pay that amount directly to plaintiff's counsel. The court also noted that counsel had previously received $3,192 under a separate federal fee statute — the Equal Access to Justice Act — and ordered counsel to refund that $3,192 directly to the plaintiff, because attorneys cannot keep fee awards for the same work under both laws.
The detailed version
- Hampton v. Kijakazi · No. 0:22-cv-00670
- Paul Magnuson
- July 23, 2025
Background
This is a Social Security disability benefits case in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. The plaintiff, identified as Aaron H., previously prevailed and was awarded past-due Social Security benefits. His counsel then moved for attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), the federal statute authorizing courts to award attorney's fees in Social Security cases out of a claimant's past-due benefits.
The defendant is Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security, who was automatically substituted as the current officeholder under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d) (a rule that allows the current holder of a government office to be substituted for a predecessor when a case is pending). The government neither opposed nor supported the fee award but agreed the motion could be styled as unopposed.
Legal Framework
Under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b)(1)(A), a court may award attorney's fees in a Social Security case in an amount "not in excess of 25 percent of the total of the past-due benefits to which the claimant is entitled," provided the court determines the fee is "reasonable." The Supreme Court's decision in Gisbrecht v. Barnhart, 535 U.S. 789 (2002), instructs courts to reduce the presumptive 25-percent figure if counsel caused undue delay or provided substandard representation.
Separately, the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) allows prevailing parties to recover attorney's fees from the federal government in certain civil cases. When an attorney collects fees under both EAJA and § 406(b) for the same work, the attorney must refund the smaller of the two fee awards to the client.
Fee Calculation
The plaintiff was entitled to: - Past-due Title II (Social Security Disability Insurance) benefits of $63,184. Twenty-five percent of that amount equals $15,796. Counsel had already received $7,200 for administrative work before the Social Security Administration under 42 U.S.C. § 406(a), so that amount is subtracted, leaving $8,596 attributable to Title II. - Past-due Title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) benefits of $6,506.75. Twenty-five percent of that amount equals $1,626.68.
Adding those figures together, counsel sought a total of $10,222.68.
Counsel reported working 14.6 hours, producing an effective hourly rate of approximately $700. The court found this rate to be within the range approved in comparable disability cases in the District of Minnesota, citing Smith v. Kijakazi, Civ. No. 19-1571, 2023 WL 3580817 (D. Minn. May 22, 2023), which approved a $900 hourly rate.
Reasonableness Determination
The court found no basis to reduce the fee. Counsel did not cause any delay and did not provide substandard representation. The court noted that counsel prepared for three administrative hearings and filed one federal district court action, and found 14.6 hours of work to be reasonable for this matter.
EAJA Offset and Refund Obligation
On November 30, 2022, the court had previously awarded counsel $3,192 in attorney's fees under the EAJA. Because attorneys may not retain fees under both EAJA and § 406(b) for the same work, the court ordered counsel to refund the $3,192 EAJA award to the plaintiff, citing Theodoros K. v. Kijakazi, Civ. No. 20-2228, 2023 WL 4621896 (D. Minn. July 19, 2023).
Ruling
Judge Magnuson granted the motion for attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) and awarded $10,222.68 in attorney's fees. The court ordered the defendant to pay $10,222.68 directly to plaintiff's counsel in accordance with the agreement signed by the plaintiff. The court also ordered counsel to refund the previously awarded $3,192 EAJA fee directly to the plaintiff.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.