Rosemarie V. v. Kijakazi

Background

Rosemarie V. was the prevailing party in a Social Security case. Her attorneys, Roselee Molloy and Joanna Parnes of Bay Area Legal Aid, moved for attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a federal law that can allow a prevailing party to recover reasonable litigation fees from the government. They requested $27,752.97.

The attorneys collectively billed 120.25 hours: Molloy billed 75.25 hours and Parnes billed 45 hours. The requested hourly rates were $217.54 for work in 2021 and $231.49 for work in 2022. The government did not challenge those hourly rates, but argued that the total hours and fee amount were excessive.

Parties’ Arguments

The government argued that experienced Social Security attorneys should not have needed substantially more than the average 30 hours to prepare arguments on six commonly raised issues. It said that awarding one-third of the requested amount—$9,250.99—would be generous compensation.

The court rejected that approach. It explained that courts may not use a general target number of hours to reduce fees in Social Security cases. Instead, the court must consider case-specific factors and identify why particular time entries are excessive. A reduction greater than 10 percent requires specific and persuasive reasons.

Court’s Analysis

The court found the case factually and legally complex. The administrative record exceeded 1,070 pages and included three sets of administrative hearing transcripts, two administrative law judge decisions, and more than 650 pages of medical records and opinion evidence concerning Rosemarie V.’s physical and mental health conditions.

The attorneys did not represent Rosemarie V. at the administrative level and therefore had to become familiar with the record. They prepared a motion for summary judgment raising seven substantive issues, nearly all of which warranted reversal of the administrative law judge’s decision. The court had previously issued a 26-page summary judgment order reversing that decision.

The court found reasonable the 114.5 hours spent preparing the summary-judgment briefing, including 79 hours reviewing the record, researching legal issues, and drafting the motion, and 35.5 hours preparing the reply brief. It also found reasonable the 5.75 hours spent preparing the fee motion. The court further found no unnecessary duplication merely because two attorneys worked on the case and stated that counsel’s experience in Social Security law was not a reason to reduce the requested hours.

Ruling

The court held that Rosemarie V.’s request for $27,752.97 in attorney fees was reasonable. It granted her motion for attorney fees in that amount.

Because Rosemarie V. assigned her Equal Access to Justice Act fees to her counsel, the government was ordered to pay the amount directly to counsel, subject to any offset permitted under the Treasury Department’s Offset Program. The opinion addresses the fee award rather than revisiting the underlying Social Security merits ruling. Judge Alex Tse signed the order.