Faulds v. Kijakazi
- Beth Freeman
- 5:20-cv-06807
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 4
Faulds v. Kijakazi: Judge Freeman approved $20,875.23 in lawyer fees and ordered counsel to refund Faulds $3,373.24 previously awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
Robin D. Faulds, whose past-due benefits funded the fee, and her counsel, who received the § 406(b) award and had to refund the $3,373.24 Equal Access to Justice Act payment.
What happened
In Faulds v. Kijakazi, Robin D. Faulds asked the court to review the denial of her Social Security disability benefits. The court sent the matter back for further proceedings, and Faulds later received past-due benefits for January 2017 through April 2023.
Faulds’s written agreement with her counsel allowed a fee of up to 25% of her past-due benefits. After receiving $103,500.92 in past-due benefits, the Social Security Administration withheld $25,875.23 for possible lawyer fees. Counsel requested $20,875.23 under the Social Security Act, less than the 25% maximum.
Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted the fee request for $20,875.23 and found it reasonable. Because Faulds had already received $3,373.24 in government-paid fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, the court ordered counsel to refund that amount to Faulds.
The detailed version
- Faulds v. Kijakazi · No. 5:20-cv-06807
- Beth Freeman
- June 27, 2023
Background
Robin D. Faulds filed the action on September 30, 2020, seeking review of the denial of her application for Disability Insurance Benefits. On August 23, 2021, the court approved the parties’ agreement to send the case back for further proceedings. Faulds then received a fully favorable result and was awarded $103,500.92 in past-due benefits for January 2017 through April 2023.
Fee Request and Legal Standard
Faulds’s written contingent-fee agreement provided for a fee of up to 25% of past-due benefits. Under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), a court may award a reasonable fee for an attorney’s representation in a successful Social Security case, up to 25% of the claimant’s past-due benefits. The fee comes from the claimant’s past-due benefits; the losing party does not pay it.
The Social Security Administration withheld $25,875.23, equal to 25% of Faulds’s past-due benefits. Counsel requested a gross fee of $20,875.23. The court had previously awarded $3,373.24 in fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a law that can require the government to pay fees when its litigation position was not substantially justified. Those government-paid fees had to be offset against the § 406(b) award, leaving a net fee of $17,501.99 after the refund to Faulds.
Court’s Analysis
The court independently reviewed the contingent-fee agreement and found the requested fee reasonable. Counsel obtained a fully favorable benefits award, and the record did not show substandard performance or delay intended to increase the fee. The court accepted counsel’s explanation that one extension of time was needed to prepare a thorough brief because of the case’s complexity and other overlapping court deadlines.
The requested fee would produce an effective hourly rate of $1,253.76 for 16.65 hours of work. The court noted that this rate would not satisfy a traditional lodestar calculation, which generally multiplies reasonable hours by a reasonable hourly rate. However, the court explained that the lodestar method does not control § 406(b) contingent-fee awards and that courts had approved similar rates in Social Security cases. The government did not object to the requested fee.
Disposition
Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted counsel’s motion for attorneys’ fees under § 406(b) in the amount of $20,875.23. The court also ordered that Faulds be refunded the $3,373.24 in Equal Access to Justice Act fees previously awarded.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.