Jeffrey D. B. v. Saul

Background

Jeffrey D. B. filed the underlying case seeking judicial review of a decision denying his application for disability insurance benefits. The Commissioner experienced delays producing the certified administrative record because the Social Security Administration office responsible for producing paper-file records was affected by COVID-19-related remote work and a backlog.

The court stayed the case and granted extensions while the Commissioner tried to produce the record. The Commissioner later conceded, based on available electronic documents and the parties’ discussions, that the case had to be remanded for further administrative proceedings. The court lifted the stay and remanded the case under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) for a supplemental hearing and further administrative action.

Attorney-fee request

Jeffrey D. B.’s counsel petitioned for $1,752.34 in attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, or EAJA. The request covered 8.8 hours of work performed in 2020 at an hourly rate of $199.13. The Commissioner did not object to either the amount requested or the fee award.

The EAJA generally permits a prevailing party in a case against the United States to recover reasonable attorney fees unless the government’s position was substantially justified or special circumstances would make an award unfair. The court noted that the government bears the burden of showing substantial justification. Here, the government did not claim that its position was substantially justified.

Court’s analysis

The EAJA generally limits attorney fees to $125 per hour but allows a higher rate when an increase in the cost of living or another special factor justifies it. The court accepted the Consumer Price Index as support for the requested cost-of-living-adjusted rate and found $199.13 per hour reasonable.

After reviewing counsel’s time entries, the court found that the requested 8.8 hours were reasonable and compensable. It therefore found the total fee request of $1,752.34 reasonable.

Ruling

Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright granted Plaintiff’s Counsel’s Petition for Attorney Fees Under the Equal Access to Justice Act and awarded Jeffrey D. B. $1,752.34 in reasonable attorney fees.

The award is payable to Jeffrey D. B. as the litigant and is subject to offset for any pre-existing debts he may owe the United States. Under his assignment of attorney fees, the Commissioner must send the payment, after any required offset, to Jeffrey D. B.’s counsel, Osterhout Berger Disability Law, LLC.