Spina v. Social Security Administration
- Beth Freeman
- 5:19-cv-05171-BLF
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Spina v. Kijakazi, Judge Freeman granted counsel $58,614 in Social Security fees and ordered a $5,200 refund of earlier fees.
The order awards counsel $58,614 from the withheld past-due benefits awarded to Spina and her minor child, and requires counsel to refund $5,200 in earlier Equal Access to Justice Act fees to Spina.
What happened
In Spina v. Kijakazi, counsel asked for fees after Deanna Michelle Spina successfully challenged the denial of her Social Security benefits. The case was sent back to the agency by agreement, and Spina and her minor child later received past-due benefits.
The requested fee was 25% of the past-due benefits, totaling $58,614. The court considered the fee agreement and found the amount reasonable, despite the resulting effective hourly rate of $2,344.56. The government and Spina did not oppose the request.
Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted the fee motion for $58,614. Because counsel had previously received $5,200 under the Equal Access to Justice Act, the order requires counsel to refund that amount to Spina.
The detailed version
- Spina v. Social Security Administration · No. 5:19-cv-05171-BLF
- Beth Freeman
- June 13, 2023
Background
Counsel moved for an award of attorneys’ fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) after Spina obtained a favorable result in her Social Security benefits case. Spina had sought review of the denial of her application for a period of disability and Disability Insurance Benefits. The court approved the parties’ agreement to send the case back to the Social Security Administration before completion of motion briefing. On remand, Spina and her minor child received awards of past-due benefits.
Spina’s written fee agreement provided for counsel to receive 25% of past-due benefits awarded to Spina and her family members. The Social Security Administration withheld 25% of the past-due benefits for possible attorneys’ fees. The withheld amount was $58,614, consisting of $39,078.75 from Spina’s award and $19,535.25 from her minor child’s award. The total past-due benefits awarded to Spina and her dependent child were $234,456.
Court’s Analysis
Section 406(b) permits a court to approve a reasonable fee for an attorney who represented a Social Security claimant, up to 25% of the claimant’s past-due benefits. The court explained that benefits payable to dependents are included when calculating the total past-due benefits for this purpose.
The court independently reviewed the contingent-fee agreement to determine whether it produced a reasonable result. Counsel obtained a fully favorable benefits award, did not unreasonably delay the proceedings, and reduced the district-court work to 25 hours by negotiating the stipulated remand before briefing was completed. Although the requested fee produced an effective hourly rate of $2,344.56, the court stated that the lodestar method—which calculates fees based primarily on hours worked and an hourly rate—does not apply to § 406(b) awards. The court also noted that courts in the district had approved contingent-fee agreements producing similar rates. Neither the government nor Spina opposed the motion.
Ruling
Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted counsel’s motion for attorneys’ fees under § 406(b) in the amount of $58,614. The order also required counsel to refund $5,200 in Equal Access to Justice Act fees previously awarded in the case. The refund requirement reflects that an attorney receiving fees under both statutes must return the smaller fee to the claimant.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.