Palafox v. Saul
- Haywood Gilliam
- 4:20-cv-07944
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Palafox v. Kijakazi, Judge Gilliam approved a stipulated $7,500 Equal Access to Justice Act fee and expense award.
Josephine Palafox receives the ordered $7,500 fee-and-expense award, subject to the payment and possible federal-debt-offset terms. Her counsel may receive payment directly if the stated conditions are met and may separately seek fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b).
What happened
In Palafox v. Kijakazi, Josephine Palafox and the government agreed that Palafox should receive $7,500 for attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
The agreement says the payment would compensate all legal services in this case, would not admit government liability, and would resolve claims for these fees. The fees are payable to Palafox, subject to possible federal-debt offsets; if no debt applies, payment may go directly to counsel under Palafox’s assignment.
Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. ordered the defendant to award Palafox $7,500 under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The order did not decide the underlying Social Security dispute and preserved counsel’s ability to seek fees under another Social Security Act provision.
The detailed version
- Palafox v. Saul · No. 4:20-cv-07944
- Haywood Gilliam
- Nov. 16, 2023
Background
The parties jointly stipulated to an award of attorney fees and expenses to Josephine Palafox under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). They agreed on an amount of $7,500 for all legal services provided for Palafox in this civil action.
Terms of the Agreement
The stipulation states that the $7,500 payment is a compromise of Palafox’s request for Equal Access to Justice Act fees and is not an admission that the defendant violated or owed fees under that statute or otherwise. Payment would fully resolve and bar claims by Palafox, her counsel, or counsel’s firm relating to Equal Access to Justice Act fees in this action.
The fees are payable to Palafox. The government may consider paying counsel directly under Palafox’s assignment if the Treasury Department determines that Palafox does not owe a federal debt. The government would first determine whether any federal debt requires an offset. The agreement also states that it does not prevent counsel or counsel’s firm from seeking attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), subject to the Equal Access to Justice Act’s savings-clause requirements.
Ruling
Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. approved the stipulation and ordered the defendant to award Palafox $7,500 in attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The order addressed fees and expenses only; the opinion text does not decide the underlying Social Security claim.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.