Guinnee v. Berryhill
- Laurel Beeler
- 3:18-cv-04322
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Guinnee v. Berryhill, Judge Beeler granted counsel’s motion for $17,043.75 in Social Security fees and required refund of previously awarded EAJA fees.
Cory W. Guinnee and his counsel were affected by the fee ruling; the Commissioner was required to withhold the requested amount from Guinnee’s past-due benefits for the fee process.
What happened
In Guinnee v. Berryhill, the court had previously granted Cory W. Guinnee’s summary-judgment motion and sent his case back to the Social Security Administration. After the agency awarded him $68,175 in past-due benefits, his lawyer asked for $17,043.75 in fees under the fee agreement and federal law.
The requested amount was 25 percent of the past-due benefits, which was also the amount the agency had withheld for a possible attorney-fee request. The Commissioner asked the court to review whether the fee was reasonable and to require counsel to refund $5,250 previously awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
Judge Beeler granted the motion, finding that the $17,043.75 fee was reasonable and within the 25-percent limit. The order required Guinnee’s counsel to refund the Equal Access to Justice Act fees to Guinnee once counsel received them.
The detailed version
- Guinnee v. Berryhill · No. 3:18-cv-04322
- Laurel Beeler
- June 18, 2021
Background
The court had previously granted Cory W. Guinnee’s motion for summary judgment and remanded the case to the Social Security Administration for further proceedings. On remand, the Commissioner awarded Guinnee $68,175.00 in retroactive Disability Insurance Benefits.
Guinnee’s fee agreement with his lawyer provided for a contingency fee equal to 25 percent of his past-due benefits. The agency withheld $17,043.75, also 25 percent of the past-due benefits, in case counsel sought a fee award. Counsel moved under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) for the withheld amount. The court had previously awarded $5,250.00 in attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
Court’s analysis
Section 406(b) allows a court to approve a reasonable fee for a claimant’s counsel after a judgment favorable to the claimant, subject to a limit of 25 percent of the past-due benefits. The court explained that it must independently review a contingency-fee request for reasonableness, considering the quality of the representation, the results achieved, any attorney-caused delay, whether the fee is disproportionate to the time spent, and the risk counsel assumed.
The court also explained that an award under § 406(b) must be offset by any Equal Access to Justice Act fee award. The court found that the 25-percent fee agreement complied with the statutory limit and that the requested amount was reasonable.
Ruling
The court granted the motion and found that a fee award of $17,043.75 was reasonable under § 406(b). It ordered Guinnee’s counsel to refund the Equal Access to Justice Act fees to Guinnee once counsel received them.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.