Ronald J. V. v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Tony Leung
- 0:22-cv-02140
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Ronald J. V. v. O’Malley, Judge Leung granted in part and denied in part Ronald’s EAJA fee motion, awarding $7,986.89.
Ronald J. V. receives the $7,986.89 award as the litigant, subject to any offset for preexisting debt owed to the United States; the motion was otherwise denied.
What happened
In Ronald J. V. v. O’Malley, Ronald J. V. asked for attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a federal law allowing certain fee awards against the government. The request concerned $8,407.25 in attorney fees and $19.71 in expenses.
The parties agreed to settle the request for $7,986.89. The court stated that the award belongs to Ronald as the plaintiff, not his attorney, and may be used to pay any existing debt he owes the United States.
The court granted in part and denied in part the fee motion, awarding $7,986.89 in fees and costs and otherwise denying the motion. Judge Tony N. Leung signed the order.
The detailed version
- Ronald J. V. v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 0:22-cv-02140
- Tony Leung
- Jan. 19, 2024
Background
Ronald J. V. filed a motion for attorney fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). He requested $8,407.25 in attorney fees and $19.71 in expenses. The court ordered Marten O’Malley to respond, and the response stated that the parties had agreed to settle the EAJA request for $7,986.89.
Court’s ruling
The court awarded $7,986.89 in EAJA fees and costs pursuant to the parties’ agreement. It stated that the award belongs to Ronald J. V. as the litigant, rather than his attorney, under Astrue v. Ratliff. The award remains subject to an offset for any preexisting debt Ronald J. V. owes the United States.
The order expressly states that the motion was granted in part and denied in part. It granted the motion to the extent of awarding $7,986.89 in fees and costs and directing that any EAJA fees be paid to Ronald J. V. as the litigant. It otherwise denied the motion. Judge Tony N. Leung, a United States magistrate judge for the District of Minnesota, signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.