Pickett v. Saul

Background

Robert Eric Pickett brought this Social Security case to challenge the Commissioner’s denial of his disability-benefits claim. After Pickett moved for summary judgment, the parties stipulated to a voluntary remand for further proceedings. The court approved that stipulation and entered judgment. It later approved a $6,000 attorney-fee award under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

After the remand, Pickett was awarded $133,408.12 in past-due benefits. His attorney, Jerron Harding, then filed an unopposed motion under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) seeking $27,352.03 in fees based on a contingent-fee agreement and 33.2 hours of work performed in the district-court case.

Reasoning

Section 406(b) governs attorney-fee awards from past-due Social Security benefits. The court found the requested fee reasonable. The fee agreement allowed fees up to 25% of the past-due benefits, matching the statutory cap, while the requested amount represented 20.5% of the award. The record did not show that Harding performed inadequately or delayed the case to increase his fee. The court also considered the substantial benefits award obtained after the Commissioner agreed to remand the case. The requested fee produced an effective hourly rate of approximately $823.85, which the court found reasonable in light of fee awards in similar cases.

Disposition

Judge Alex Tse granted Pickett’s unopposed motion for attorney’s fees under § 406(b) in the amount of $27,352.03. Harding was required to reimburse Pickett for the entire $6,000 previously awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act.