McBride-Meyers v. Colvin

Background

Nina S. McBride-Meyers applied for Social Security Disability benefits in 2013, alleging disability beginning April 12, 2013. An administrative law judge found her not disabled, and the Social Security Administration’s Appeals Council declined review. McBride-Meyers then filed an action in the Southern District of New York.

On September 29, 2017, Judge Ellis remanded the case to the Social Security Administration for further proceedings, and judgment was entered that day. McBride-Meyers later received $4,000 in attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a statute that allows certain fee awards against the government. On remand, the Appeals Council issued a fully favorable decision finding McBride-Meyers disabled as of April 12, 2013. The Social Security Administration notified her that it had withheld $9,317.50 from her past-due benefits in case it needed to pay her representative.

Fee request and legal standard

McBride-Meyers’s counsel moved for $9,317.50 under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), which permits a court to approve a reasonable fee for an attorney who represented a claimant successfully in federal court. The statute limits the fee to 25 percent of the claimant’s past-due benefits.

The court explained that it must begin with the contingent-fee agreement and reduce the requested amount only if the amount is unreasonable. Relevant considerations include whether the fee is within the statutory limit, whether the agreement resulted from fraud or improper pressure, whether the fee is out of proportion to the representation and result, whether counsel delayed the case, and whether the award would be an improper “windfall”—a fee disproportionately large compared with the work performed.

A claimant’s attorney may receive fees under both § 406(b) and the Equal Access to Justice Act, but must refund the smaller award to the claimant.

Court’s analysis

The court found that the requested fee was within the 25-percent limit and that there was no evidence of fraud or improper pressure. It also found that the fee was consistent with the nature of the representation and the successful result, that Binder Law Offices had not unreasonably delayed the proceedings, and that the firm’s submissions were specific and well supported.

Counsel requested $9,317.50 for 20.5 hours of work before the court, producing an effective hourly rate of $454.51. Daniel S. Jones worked 18.5 hours and Charles E. Binder worked 2 hours. The court found the hours reasonable and the effective hourly rate comparable to rates previously approved in the circuit. It also considered counsel’s experience in Social Security cases.

Disposition

Judge Stewart D. Aaron granted McBride-Meyers’s motion for attorney’s fees in the amount of $9,317.50. Upon receiving that amount, counsel was ordered to refund the previously awarded $4,000 in Equal Access to Justice Act fees directly to McBride-Meyers.