T.H. v. Saul

Background

T.H. appealed the Social Security Administration’s denial of disability benefits based on multiple mental impairments, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and insomnia disorder. On February 20, 2020, the court granted T.H.’s motion for summary judgment, denied the Commissioner’s motion for summary judgment, and remanded the case for further proceedings.

The court later awarded T.H.’s counsel $9,500 under the Equal Access to Justice Act, or EAJA. After the remand, the Social Security Administration found T.H. disabled and awarded benefits for 2014 through 2020, including $51,328.40 in past-due benefits. The agency withheld $15,551—25 percent of the past-due benefits—for possible attorney’s fees.

Motion and legal standard

T.H.’s counsel, David J. Linden, requested $15,551 under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). That provision permits a court to award a claimant’s attorney a reasonable fee for work performed in federal court, subject to a limit of 25 percent of the claimant’s past-due benefits. The court must independently review a contingency-fee agreement to ensure that it produces a reasonable result. Relevant considerations include the quality of the representation, the result achieved, whether counsel delayed the case to increase the fee, whether the fee is excessive compared with the benefits obtained, and the risk counsel assumed.

A Section 406(b) award must be offset by any EAJA fee award. The Commissioner took no position on whether the requested fee was reasonable.

Analysis

The court found the requested fee reasonable. The contingency-fee agreement stayed within the 25-percent statutory limit. The court found no indication of deficient performance or delay intended to increase the fee. Counsel performed substantial work and obtained a favorable result by securing a remand, which ultimately led to the agency’s finding that T.H. was disabled. The court also found that $15,551 was not excessive because it represented 25 percent of the past-due benefits.

The court further found that counsel had assumed a substantial risk of receiving no fee. Counsel began representing T.H. after the agency denied the initial applications, an unfavorable decision followed a hearing, and the Appeals Council declined review. Counsel could not know in advance that the federal-court appeal would result in a remand and an award of benefits.

Disposition

The court granted T.H.’s counsel’s motion for attorney’s fees. It directed the Commissioner to certify $15,551 in fees under Section 406(b), payable to David J. Linden, Attorney at Law. It also ordered counsel to refund the previously awarded $9,500 in EAJA fees to T.H.