David D. v. Saul
- Jacquelyn Corley
- 3:20-cv-02696
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 4
David D. v. O’Malley: Judge Corley granted counsel’s $50,000 fee motion and ordered a $12,500 refund of earlier fees.
David D. receives the benefit of the fee ruling but must receive a $12,500 refund from counsel; counsel receives $50,000 payable to the Law Offices of Katherine Siegfried and must make the refund; the Commissioner must certify the fee award.
What happened
In David D. v. Martin O’Malley, the court considered the lawyer’s request for payment after successfully appealing the denial of David D.’s disability benefits. The court had previously sent the case back for further proceedings, and the Social Security Administration later found David D. disabled and awarded $247,719 in past-due benefits.
Counsel requested $50,000 under a federal law allowing fees of up to 25% of past-due benefits. The Commissioner took no position. The court found the fee agreement and requested amount reasonable, noting counsel’s work, the favorable result, and the risk that counsel might not be paid.
Judge Jacquelyn Scott Corley granted the motion. She directed certification of $50,000 payable to the Law Offices of Katherine Siegfried and ordered counsel to refund $12,500 in previously awarded Equal Access to Justice Act fees to David D.
The detailed version
- David D. v. Saul · No. 3:20-cv-02696
- Jacquelyn Corley
- Feb. 20, 2024
Background
David D. appealed the Social Security Administration’s denial of disability benefits based on physical impairments including back pain, neck pain, and numbness and weakness in his extremities. On June 17, 2021, the court granted David D.’s motion for summary judgment, denied the Commissioner’s motion, and remanded the case for further proceedings. The court later awarded counsel $12,500 under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
After remand, the Social Security Administration found David D. disabled. It awarded him $247,719 in past-due benefits and withheld $61,929.75 for attorney’s fees, equal to 25% of those benefits. Under a contingency-fee agreement, counsel could seek up to 25% of the past-due benefits. Counsel Katherine Siegfried requested $50,000 under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) for work performed in the district court. The Commissioner took no position on the motion.
Legal standard
Section 406(b) permits a court to award a reasonable fee to an attorney who represented a successful Social Security claimant in court, subject to a maximum of 25% of the claimant’s past-due benefits. The court must independently review the fee request for reasonableness. Relevant considerations include the quality of the representation, the results achieved, any delay by counsel, and the risk counsel accepted in taking the case. Any Section 406(b) award must be offset by fees previously awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
Court’s reasoning
The court found the requested $50,000 reasonable. The contingency-fee agreement stayed within the 25% statutory limit. The court found no indication of deficient representation or delay intended to increase the fee. Instead, counsel had done substantial work and obtained a favorable result by securing a remand. The court also found that the requested amount was not excessive and that counsel had accepted a substantial risk of receiving no fee when taking the case.
Disposition
The court GRANTS Plaintiff’s counsel’s motion for fees. It directed the Commissioner to certify $50,000 in fees under Section 406(b), payable to the Law Offices of Katherine Siegfried. Counsel must refund the previously awarded $12,500 in Equal Access to Justice Act fees to David D. The order disposes of Docket No. 25.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.