Moua L. v. Saul
- Katherine Menendez
- 0:20-cv-00692
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 5
Xai Moua L. v. Kijakazi: Judge Menendez granted in part counsel’s fee petition, awarding $8,960.85 instead of the requested $10,354.76.
Xai Moua L. and her counsel receive an EAJA award of $8,960.85, subject to offset by any preexisting debt Xai Moua L. owes the United States; the award is payable to Xai Moua L. and mailed to her counsel.
What happened
In Xai Moua L. v. Kilolo Kijakazi, the plaintiff’s lawyer asked for $10,354.76 under the Equal Access to Justice Act, covering 52 hours of work in the Social Security case. The Commissioner did not oppose awarding fees but argued that the requested amount was too high.
The court agreed that an award was appropriate because Xai Moua L. had prevailed and met the law’s eligibility requirements. But the court found that some of the billed time was excessive, especially the time spent reviewing the administrative record and preparing the opening brief. It determined that 45 hours, rather than 52, were reasonably compensable at the uncontested rate of $199.13 per hour.
Judge Menendez granted in part the fee petition and awarded $8,960.85 in attorney’s fees. The award is payable to Xai Moua L., will be mailed to her lawyer, and is subject to offset by any preexisting debt she owes the United States.
The detailed version
- Moua L. v. Saul · No. 0:20-cv-00692
- Katherine Menendez
- Oct. 1, 2021
Background
This order addresses Plaintiff’s Counsel’s petition for attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). Counsel requested $10,354.76 for 52 hours of work at an hourly rate of $199.13. The Commissioner did not argue that a fee award was improper but contended that the requested amount was unreasonable and suggested compensating no more than 35 hours, for an award of $6,969.55.
Eligibility for Fees
The court found that the petition was filed within 30 days after judgment. It also found that Xai Moua L. was a prevailing party because she obtained a sentence-four remand, and that her net worth did not exceed $2,000,000 when the case was filed. The Commissioner’s position amounted to a concession that the government’s position was not substantially justified. The court therefore concluded that an EAJA fee award was appropriate.
Reasonableness of the Requested Hours
The court rejected the argument that the requested 52 hours were unreasonable solely because they exceeded a claimed 20-to-40-hour guideline. It also declined to reduce the award based on fee reductions in unrelated cases involving other plaintiffs, records, and errors.
The court did find that the time spent reviewing the 1,341-page administrative record and drafting the opening brief was slightly excessive for an experienced Social Security disability practitioner. The court also noted that several time entries combined multiple tasks without stating how much time was spent on each task. Considering these circumstances, it found that 45 hours were reasonably compensable.
Disposition
Judge Katherine Menendez granted in part Plaintiff’s Counsel’s Petition for Attorney Fees Under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The court awarded $8,960.85, calculated as 45 hours at $199.13 per hour. The award is subject to offset by any preexisting debt that Xai Moua L. owes the United States, is payable to Xai Moua L., and is to be mailed to her counsel.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.