Charles C. v. Kijakazi
- Dulce Foster
- 0:22-cv-02054
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Charles C. v. Kijakazi, Judge Foster approved $8,000 in attorney fees and $402 in costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
Charles C., his attorney Konoski & Partners, P.C., and the Department of Justice; any qualifying debt owed by Charles C. to the United States may reduce the fee payment.
What happened
In Charles C. v. Kijakazi, Charles C. asked for attorney fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act after the parties agreed to different amounts.
The court denied the original fee motion as moot and approved the parties’ agreement awarding $8,000 in attorney fees and $402 in costs. The fees are payable to Charles C. and may be reduced to pay qualifying debts to the United States.
Judge Dulce J. Foster also explained that, if there is no qualifying debt and the government waives certain payment requirements, the fees may be paid to Charles C.’s attorney, Konoski & Partners, P.C.
The detailed version
- Charles C. v. Kijakazi · No. 0:22-cv-02054
- Dulce J. Foster
- Aug. 30, 2023
Background
Charles C. moved for attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). He initially requested $9,961.52 in attorney fees and $502 in expenses and costs. The parties later filed a joint agreement providing for $8,000 in attorney fees and $402 in costs.
Ruling
The court denied Plaintiff’s Motion as moot and approved the joint agreement. The order awarded Charles C. $8,000 in reasonable attorney fees under the EAJA and $402 in costs, payable by the Department of Justice.
Under the order, the EAJA fee award is payable to Charles C. as the litigant and may be offset to satisfy qualifying preexisting debts owed to the United States. The Commissioner recognized that Charles C. had assigned his right to the fees to his attorney. If the Commissioner determines that Charles C. has no debt subject to the Treasury Offset Program and agrees to waive the Anti-Assignment Act’s requirements, the fees may be paid to Konoski & Partners, P.C. If a qualifying debt exists, any remaining fees after the offset will be paid by check to Charles C. Checks are to be delivered to his attorney’s firm.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.