Trujillo, Jr. v. Nancy A. Berryhill
- Van Keulen
- 5:18-cv-07125
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Gilbert Trujillo Jr. v. Andrew Saul, Judge Van Keulen ordered $4,553.59 in Equal Access to Justice Act attorney fees after a Social Security remand.
Gilbert Trujillo Jr. and his attorney, Harvey P. Sackett, received an approved $4,553.59 Equal Access to Justice Act fee award, subject to possible federal-debt offsets and the payment terms in the order; the Commissioner of Social Security was required to pay it under those terms.
What happened
Gilbert Trujillo Jr. v. Andrew Saul concerned attorney fees after the court reversed the Commissioner’s decision and sent the case back for another hearing. The court had entered that remand order on November 22, 2019.
The parties agreed that $4,553.59 was a reasonable fee under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The payment would be made to Trujillo, subject to possible government debt offsets; if no federal debt existed, the government could pay the assigned fees directly to his lawyer. The agreement did not prevent a later request for fees under the Social Security Act.
On February 26, 2020, Judge Susan Van Keulen approved the parties’ stipulation and ordered the award. The agreement did not establish a precedent or concede that the original benefits decision lacked substantial justification.
The detailed version
- Trujillo, Jr. v. Nancy A. Berryhill · No. 5:18-cv-07125
- Van Keulen
- Feb. 26, 2020
Background
This was an agreed order concerning attorney fees, not the court’s original decision about Social Security benefits. The opinion states that on November 22, 2019, the court reversed the Commissioner of Social Security’s final decision and remanded the case for a rehearing under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), sentence four. Judgment was entered.
Fee agreement
The parties stipulated that an award of $4,553.59 in attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), was reasonable. The agreement stated that the award would not prejudice Trujillo’s right to seek attorney fees under section 206(b) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), subject to the applicable offset and savings provisions.
The government explained that payment would be made to Trujillo. After the order, the Treasury Department would determine whether the fees were subject to an offset for a federal debt. If Trujillo did not owe such a debt, the government would arrange for payment directly to Harvey P. Sackett under Trujillo’s assignment. The parties also agreed that the award would not be used as precedent in future cases and would not be treated as the Commissioner’s concession that the original administrative decision was not substantially justified.
Ruling
Judge Susan Van Keulen ordered: “Pursuant to the stipulation, IT IS SO ORDERED.” The court therefore approved the agreed $4,553.59 Equal Access to Justice Act fee award. This order did not decide the possible later request for fees under section 406(b).
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.