Roach v. Saul

Background

Christopher Roach brought an action under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) seeking judicial review of the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of benefits. On July 17, 2020, the court granted Roach’s summary-judgment motion and remanded the case. The court also awarded $9,000 in attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), a statute that allows certain fee awards paid by the government.

After the remand, the Commissioner granted Roach’s application and awarded $103,711 in retroactive benefits. Roach had agreed to pay counsel up to 25% of his past-due benefits under a contingent-fee agreement. His attorney, Katherine R. Siegfried, requested $18,000 under section 206(b) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). The requested amount was 17% of the total benefits, rather than the full 25% allowed by the agreement, because Roach also had to pay the attorney who represented him in the administrative proceedings.

Legal standard

Section 406(b) permits a federal court that has entered a judgment favorable to a Social Security claimant represented by an attorney to award a reasonable fee from the claimant’s past-due benefits, up to 25% of those benefits. The court explained that a fee agreement is the starting point, but the court must independently check whether the requested amount is reasonable. Relevant considerations include counsel’s performance, delay, and whether the fee is proportionate to the time spent and the results achieved. The court also explained that a fee awarded under section 406(b) must be coordinated with an EAJA award: when both fees are awarded, the attorney must refund the smaller fee to the claimant.

Court’s analysis

The court found that counsel met her burden of showing that the requested fee was reasonable. The contingent-fee agreement complied with the 25% statutory limit. The court found no evidence of substandard performance and noted that counsel’s representation resulted in Roach receiving $103,711 in past-due benefits.

Counsel reported spending 59.9 hours on the case. Her requested $18,000 fee produced an effective hourly rate of $301. The court considered the substantial risk of loss involved in representing Social Security disability claimants on a contingency basis and concluded that the requested fee was reasonable.

Disposition

The court granted counsel’s motion for attorney’s fees. Because Roach had previously received a $9,000 EAJA fee award, the court directed counsel to refund that $9,000 amount to Roach. The opinion also directed the Commissioner to certify fees under section 406(b); the conclusion’s text is truncated after that direction, although the discussion identifies the approved request as $18,000.