Patricia M. v. Kijakazi
- Elizabeth Wright
- 0:20-cv-01868
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 5
In Patricia M. v. Kijakazi, Judge Wright granted Patricia M.’s request for $5,907.48 in Equal Access to Justice Act attorney fees.
Patricia M. was awarded $5,907.48 in attorney fees; the payment is subject to any required offset for debts owed to the United States and is then to be sent to the office of Edward C. Olson under Patricia M.’s assignment.
What happened
Patricia M. v. Kijakazi involved Patricia M.’s request for attorney fees after the court previously granted her request for summary judgment in part and sent her disability-benefits case back to the Social Security Commissioner.
The court found that Patricia M.’s lawyer reasonably spent 28.40 hours on the case at an adjusted hourly rate of $208.01. The Commissioner did not challenge the amount or argue that the government’s position was substantially justified.
Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright granted the motion and awarded $5,907.48 under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The award is payable to Patricia M., may be reduced to cover certain debts owed to the United States, and must then be sent to her lawyer’s office under the fee assignment.
The detailed version
- Patricia M. v. Kijakazi · No. 0:20-cv-01868
- Elizabeth Wright
- Sept. 19, 2022
Background
Patricia M. asked the court for attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a federal law that can require the United States to pay reasonable fees when a party prevails in litigation against the government. The request concerned her earlier case seeking review of the denial of her application for disability insurance benefits.
On March 7, 2022, the court granted Patricia M.’s motion for summary judgment in part and remanded the case to the Social Security Commissioner under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). The opinion does not provide the details of the earlier summary-judgment ruling.
Fee Analysis
Patricia M. requested $5,907.48 for 28.40 hours of attorney work performed from 2020 through 2022, using an hourly rate of $208.01. The court explained that the Equal Access to Justice Act generally limits attorney fees to $125 per hour, but permits a higher rate when an increase in the cost of living justifies it. The court accepted the Consumer Price Index calculation supporting the $208.01 rate.
The court reviewed the lawyer’s itemized time records and found that the 28.40 hours billed and the legal work performed were neither excessive nor unreasonable. The Commissioner did not object to the amount requested and did not argue that the government’s position was substantially justified. The court therefore calculated the award as follows: 28.40 hours multiplied by $208.01, for a total of $5,907.48.
Order
The court granted Patricia M.’s motion for an Equal Access to Justice Act fee award and awarded her $5,907.48 in reasonable attorney fees. Consistent with the governing law, the award is payable to Patricia M. as the litigant and is subject to offset for any pre-existing debts she may owe the United States. Under Patricia M.’s assignment of attorney fees, the Commissioner must send the payment, after any required offset, to the office of Edward C. Olson.
Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright signed the order as a United States Magistrate Judge.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.