Sabahi v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Thomas Hixson
- 3:19-cv-02155-TSH
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 4
In Sabahi v. Kijakazi, Judge Hixson granted $17,795 in fees and ordered counsel to refund $7,795 in previously awarded fees.
Allen Sabahi and his attorney, Jesse Kaplan; the Commissioner was directed to certify the fee payment, and Kaplan was required to refund the earlier $7,795 fee award to Sabahi.
What happened
Allen Sabahi sued to challenge the Social Security Commissioner’s denial of benefits. The court had sent the case back for further proceedings, and the Commissioner later awarded Sabahi $84,920 in past-due benefits. Sabahi’s attorney, Jesse Kaplan, asked for $17,795 under the Social Security Act.
The court found that amount reasonable because Sabahi had agreed to pay up to 25% of his past-due benefits, the fee request was within that limit, and Kaplan’s work resulted in Sabahi receiving benefits. Kaplan reported spending 43.75 hours on the case. The court also noted that Kaplan had previously received $7,795 under a separate fee law for successful claims against the government.
Judge Thomas S. Hixson granted the motion for attorney’s fees. The Commissioner was directed to certify $17,795 payable to Jesse Kaplan, and Kaplan was ordered to refund the $7,795 previously awarded under the separate fee law to Allen Sabahi.
The detailed version
- Sabahi v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 3:19-cv-02155-TSH
- Thomas Hixson
- Dec. 5, 2022
Background
Allen Sabahi brought an action under the Social Security Act seeking review of the Commissioner’s decision denying benefits. On November 18, 2020, the court remanded the case for further proceedings. The court later approved a $7,795 attorney-fee award under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a law that can require the government to pay fees to a party who successfully litigates against it.
After the remand, the Commissioner granted Sabahi’s application and awarded $84,920 in retroactive benefits. Sabahi had agreed under a contingent-fee agreement to pay his attorney, Jesse Kaplan, up to 25% of any past-due benefits. Twenty-five percent of the award was $21,230. Kaplan requested $17,795 under section 206(b) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 406(b).
Legal standard
Section 406(b) allows a federal court that enters a favorable judgment for a claimant represented by an attorney to award the attorney a reasonable fee, subject to a limit of 25% of the claimant’s past-due benefits. The court must independently review the request for reasonableness, beginning with the contingent-fee agreement and considering the quality of the representation and the results achieved. Factors that may support reducing a fee include poor performance, delay, or a fee disproportionate to the time spent.
A section 406(b) fee is paid from the successful claimant’s past-due benefits. When the attorney has also received fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, the attorney must refund to the claimant the smaller fee, up to the point at which the claimant receives all of the past-due benefits.
Court’s analysis
The court found that Kaplan had met his burden of showing that the requested fee was reasonable. The 25% contingent-fee agreement was consistent with the statutory limit. The court found no evidence of substandard performance and noted that Kaplan’s representation resulted in Sabahi receiving $84,920 in past-due benefits.
Kaplan stated that he spent 43.75 hours on the case, producing an effective hourly rate of $406 for the requested fee. The court recognized that this was higher than Kaplan’s typical rate but explained that contingency-fee cases involve a substantial risk of loss and that courts generally give weight to a winning lawyer’s professional judgment about the time required. The court therefore approved the requested amount.
Disposition
Judge Thomas S. Hixson granted counsel’s motion for attorney’s fees. The Commissioner was directed to certify $17,795 in fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), payable to Jesse Kaplan. Kaplan was ordered to refund the $7,795 Equal Access to Justice Act fee award to Sabahi.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.