Elizabeth B. v. Kijakazi

Background

Elizabeth B. sought attorney fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) after the court granted her motion for summary judgment in her Social Security disability-benefits case, denied the Commissioner’s motion, and remanded the case for further proceedings. The earlier ruling found that the administrative law judge’s consideration of medical evidence about Elizabeth B.’s mental impairments was not supported by substantial evidence and that the rejection of her testimony about her symptoms was legally insufficient.

Elizabeth B. initially requested $15,308.16 in fees. In her reply, she requested $16,462.14, including time spent preparing the reply and a correction to the hourly rate used for work performed in 2022. She also requested $22.80 in costs.

Discussion

The Commissioner argued that the fee request should be denied because Elizabeth B. had not initially provided the required itemization of hours, because the government’s position was substantially justified, and because the amount requested was unreasonable.

The court allowed the fee application to be corrected because counsel provided the government with the itemized hours after discovering the omission and the government could not show prejudice. Under the EAJA, a prevailing party may receive fees unless the government’s position was substantially justified or special circumstances would make an award unjust. The court concluded that the Commissioner had not met the burden of showing substantial justification. The court relied on its earlier conclusion that the administrative law judge’s decision lacked substantial evidentiary support regarding the evaluation of Elizabeth B.’s mental impairments and her subjective symptom testimony.

The court also found the requested fees reasonable. Counsel reported spending 70.40 hours on the case: 64.6 hours preparing the briefing that led to the remand and 5.8 hours preparing the fee motion and reply. The court found those hours reasonable in light of the nearly 970-page administrative record and the three substantive legal issues raised. It also approved hourly rates of $217.54 for work performed in 2021 and $234.95 for work performed in 2022.

Disposition

The court granted Elizabeth B.’s motion for EAJA fees. It awarded $16,462.14 in attorney fees and $22.80 in costs. Because Elizabeth B. assigned the fee award to her attorney, Ana L. Molleda, the award is to be paid directly to The Law Offices of Ana L. Molleda, subject to any administrative offset for an outstanding federal debt.