Nicholas J. v. Bisignano
- Dulce Foster
- 0:25-cv-02007
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Nicholas J. v. Bisignano, Magistrate Judge Foster granted an unopposed request for $8,000 in attorney's fees and $405 in costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act in a Social Security case.
Social Security claimants and their attorneys who have prevailed (or reached agreement) in federal court cases against the Social Security Administration and are seeking reimbursement of attorney's fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
What happened
In Nicholas J. v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security (Case No. 25-cv-2007), a plaintiff who had sued the Social Security Administration filed an unopposed motion asking the court to award attorney's fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), a federal law that allows prevailing parties to recover litigation costs from the government when the government's position was not substantially justified.
The plaintiff requested $8,000 in attorney's fees and $405 in costs. The Commissioner of Social Security did not oppose the motion, and the plaintiff submitted supporting documents to justify the amounts requested.
Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster granted the motion in full, ordering the government to pay $8,000 in attorney's fees and $405 in costs. The order notes, consistent with a U.S. Supreme Court decision called Astrue v. Ratliff, that the fees may be reduced to offset any existing debt the plaintiff owes to the federal government. If no such debt exists and the government waives a federal rule called the Anti-Assignment Act, the fees will be paid directly to the plaintiff's law firm, Konoski & Partners, P.C. Otherwise, any remaining fees after offset will be paid by check to the plaintiff personally.
The detailed version
- Nicholas J. v. Bisignano · No. 0:25-cv-02007
- Dulce J. Foster
- Nov. 14, 2025
Background
This is a Social Security case in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. The plaintiff, identified only as "Nicholas J." pursuant to the district's policy of using only first names and last initials for nongovernmental parties in Social Security matters, sued Frank Bisignano in his capacity as Commissioner of Social Security.
The opinion does not describe the underlying merits of the Social Security dispute. The matter before the court is solely a fee petition brought under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A). The EAJA allows a prevailing party in litigation against the federal government to recover attorney's fees and costs unless the court finds that the government's position was substantially justified or special circumstances make an award unjust.
The Motion
Plaintiff filed an Unopposed Motion for Award of Attorney Fees Pursuant to EAJA (ECF No. 15), requesting: - $8,000 in attorney's fees - $405 in costs
The Commissioner of Social Security, the defendant, did not oppose the motion (ECF No. 17 ¶ 15). The plaintiff submitted supporting documents in ECF Nos. 17 and 18.
The Court's Ruling
Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster granted the motion in full based on the parties' agreement and the plaintiff's supporting documentation. The court ordered the government to pay $8,000 in attorney's fees and $405 in costs.
Treasury Offset and Payment Instructions
The order incorporates the rule from the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586 (2010), which held that EAJA fees are payable to the litigant (not automatically to the attorney) and may be subject to offset to satisfy any preexisting federal debt the plaintiff owes through the Treasury Offset Program. The order sets out two payment scenarios:
1. No preexisting debt / Anti-Assignment Act waived: If the Commissioner determines the plaintiff does not owe a debt subject to the Treasury Offset Program and agrees to waive the requirements of the Anti-Assignment Act (a federal statute that generally restricts the assignment of claims against the government), the fees will be made payable to the plaintiff's law firm, Konoski & Partners, P.C.
2. Preexisting debt exists: If a debt subject to offset exists and the Commissioner cannot waive the Anti-Assignment Act, the remaining fees after offset will be paid by check made out to the plaintiff personally.
In either case, any payment checks are to be delivered to the plaintiff's attorney at Konoski & Partners, P.C., 180 Tices Lane, Suite 204, Building A, East Brunswick, NJ 08816.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.