Diaz De Leon v. Andrew Saul

Background

The court stated that, on November 9, 2021, it had reversed the Commissioner of Social Security’s final decision and remanded the case for a rehearing under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). The opinion does not include the reasoning for that earlier decision. The caption identifies Kilolo Kijakazi as the Acting Commissioner and states that she replaced Andrew Saul as the defendant.

Fee Agreement

The parties stipulated that $5,093.76 was a reasonable award of attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). The stipulation stated that the award fully released and barred claims relating to Equal Access to Justice Act fees and costs. It also stated that the award was not precedent and was not a concession that the original administrative decision denying benefits lacked substantial justification.

The award did not prevent the plaintiff or his counsel from seeking attorney fees under section 206(b) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), subject to the Equal Access to Justice Act’s offset provisions. The government would first determine whether any Treasury Department offset applied. The fees were to be made payable to the plaintiff, but could be paid directly to counsel under the plaintiff’s assignment if the Treasury Department determined that the plaintiff did not owe a federal debt.

Ruling

Pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, Judge Sallie Kim ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff $5,093.76 in attorney fees. This opinion concerns the fee award, not the merits of the earlier Social Security decision.