Pajdee T. v. Kijakazi
- Elizabeth Wright
- 0:22-cv-01260
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 7
In Pajdee T. v. Kijakazi, Judge Wright granted counsel’s $19,700 fee request and required a $3,187.37 refund to Pajdee T.
Pajdee T. and her attorneys, Wes Kappelman and David Christianson; the order awards counsel $19,700 and requires a $3,187.37 refund to Pajdee T.
What happened
In Pajdee T. v. Kijakazi, Pajdee T. challenged the denial of Social Security disability benefits. After the court remanded her claim, she received benefits and her attorneys sought $19,700 in fees for their federal-court work.
The court found the requested amount reasonable even though it represented an effective hourly rate of about $1,000 and exceeded the $7,200 the Social Security Administration had withheld for possible fees. The court also noted that the fee was below 25% of Pajdee T.’s past-due benefits.
Judge Wright granted the motion, awarded counsel $19,700, and ordered counsel to refund Pajdee T. $3,187.37 in previously awarded Equal Access to Justice Act fees.
The detailed version
- Pajdee T. v. Kijakazi · No. 0:22-cv-01260
- Elizabeth Wright
- Dec. 5, 2023
Background
Pajdee T. sought judicial review of a Social Security decision denying her applications for disability insurance benefits. In this case, the parties jointly stipulated to a remand, and the court remanded the claim on November 1, 2022. On remand, Pajdee T. was awarded benefits. An earlier round of the case had also resulted in a remand.
Pajdee T.’s attorneys had previously received $2,187.37 in Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) fees in this case and $1,000 in EAJA fees in the earlier round, for a total of $3,187.37. The Social Security Administration later issued a notice stating that it had withheld $7,200 from Pajdee T.’s past-due benefits for possible attorney’s fees. The notice stated that the agency could not withhold more than 25% of past-due benefits for an authorized fee. The Commissioner awarded $151,724 in past-due benefits.
Fee request and analysis
Pajdee T.’s attorneys sought $19,700 under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), based on a contingency-fee agreement calling for 25% of past-due benefits secured through federal-court litigation. The requested fee was less than 25% of the past-due benefits. Based on the benefit amounts in the notice of award, the court concluded that 25% of the past-due benefits was at least $37,931.
The attorneys documented 19.7 hours of work by Wes Kappelman and David Christianson. The requested fee therefore produced an effective hourly rate of approximately $1,000. The court acknowledged that this rate appeared high, particularly compared with EAJA rates and the $7,200 amount the agency said it had withheld. But the court found the fee reasonable because the contingency agreement allowed a 25% fee, the requested amount was below that percentage, the representation resulted in an award of disability benefits, the attorneys did not appear responsible for delay, and the time spent was reasonable.
Disposition
The court granted Pajdee T.’s motion for attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). It awarded counsel $19,700 in reasonable attorney’s fees. Because counsel had also received EAJA fees, the court ordered counsel to refund $3,187.37 to Pajdee T., representing the previously awarded EAJA fees.
Classification
This is a procedural order because it concerns an ancillary attorney-fee award rather than the underlying eligibility for Social Security benefits.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.