Mowry v. Kilolo Kijakazi
- Richard Seeborg
- 3:19-cv-02972-RS
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 4
In Mowry v. Kijakazi, Judge Seeborg granted counsel’s fee request and ordered a refund of the earlier Equal Access to Justice Act payment.
Brian Barboza may collect $15,919.25 in fees from Mowry’s past-due Social Security benefits, but must refund the $6,900.50 Equal Access to Justice Act payment to Jessica M. Mowry.
What happened
In Mowry v. Kijakazi, attorney Brian Barboza asked the court to approve $15,919.25 in fees for representing Jessica M. Mowry in her Social Security disability case. The court had previously found Mowry disabled and remanded the case for payment of benefits.
The court reviewed the fee agreement, the results obtained, the time spent, and whether counsel’s work or delays justified reducing the fee. Barboza reported spending 33.62 hours on the case, making the requested fee equivalent to $473.50 per hour. The court found no substandard representation or undue delay and found the requested amount reasonable.
Judge Seeborg granted the motion. Barboza may collect $15,919.25 in attorney fees, but must refund the $6,900.50 previously paid under the Equal Access to Justice Act to Mowry.
The detailed version
- Mowry v. Kilolo Kijakazi · No. 3:19-cv-02972-RS
- Richard Seeborg
- Dec. 14, 2021
Background
Jessica M. Mowry applied for Social Security disability benefits in 2015. The Social Security Administration denied the application initially and on reconsideration. An administrative law judge also denied benefits in 2017, and the Appeals Council declined review. Mowry then sought review in the district court. In December 2019, she was found disabled with an onset date of March 5, 2015, and the case was remanded for payment of benefits.
Mowry’s attorney, Brian Barboza, previously received $6,900.50 under the Equal Access to Justice Act. He then moved under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) for the full fee allowed by his agreement with Mowry: 25 percent of her past-due benefits, or $15,919.25. The government did not take a position for or against the motion but analyzed it in a role resembling a trustee for Mowry.
Legal standard
Under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), a court may approve a reasonable fee for an attorney who represented a claimant in court, up to 25 percent of the claimant’s past-due benefits. The court used the fee agreement as a starting point but independently reviewed whether the result was reasonable. Relevant considerations included the quality of the representation, any delay caused by the attorney, the amount of benefits compared with the time spent, and the risk involved in the contingent-fee arrangement.
When an attorney receives fees under both § 406(b) and the Equal Access to Justice Act, the attorney must refund the smaller fee to the claimant.
Court’s analysis
The court found no evidence that Barboza’s representation was substandard and no indication that he caused undue delay. Barboza reported spending 33.62 hours on the case before the district court. The requested $15,919.25 amounted to an effective hourly rate of $473.50, higher than his customary $350 hourly rate. The court nevertheless found the amount reasonable because the representation was performed under a contingent-fee agreement involving a substantial risk of losing, and the effective rate was within the range of other approved fee requests.
Disposition
Judge Richard Seeborg granted the motion for attorney fees. Barboza was permitted to collect $15,919.25, provided that he refunded the $6,900.50 Equal Access to Justice Act award to Mowry.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.