Padilla v. Colvin
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:15-cv-09312
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Padilla v. Colvin, Judge Briccetti granted counsel’s request for $16,173.30 in fees from past-due Social Security benefits.
The plaintiff, Bernaldino Padilla, and his attorney, Philip H. Seelig. The attorney received approval for $16,173.30 in fees from the plaintiff’s past-due benefits, while the plaintiff was to receive the previously awarded $7,500 Equal Access to Justice Act payment from counsel.
What happened
Padilla v. Colvin concerned the attorney’s fee request after the court remanded an earlier denial of Social Security benefits and the agency later awarded benefits. The request was unopposed.
The court granted the request for $16,173.30 under the law governing fees for successful work in federal court. It found the amount reasonable and within the 25% limit on past-due benefits. The fee will be paid from benefits withheld by the Social Security Administration.
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti also directed the attorney to return $7,500 previously awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The clerk was instructed to terminate the motion.
The detailed version
- Padilla v. Colvin · No. 7:15-cv-09312
- Vincent Briccetti
- Dec. 28, 2020
Background
The plaintiff moved for an award of $16,173.30 in attorney’s fees for services performed before the district court. The motion was unopposed. The opinion states that the plaintiff had agreed in a 2015 retainer agreement to pay attorney Philip H. Seelig a contingency fee equal to 25% of past-due Social Security benefits awarded after a favorable administrative decision following a district-court remand.
The court had previously remanded the plaintiff’s earlier benefits case to the Social Security Administration. After that remand, the plaintiff received a favorable administrative decision. The court had also previously approved $7,500 in attorney’s fees and $400 in costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act, paid by the agency.
Fee Request and Ruling
The court held that the requested $16,173.30 was within the statutory maximum of 25% of the past-due benefits. It also found the request reasonable based on counsel’s time and effort in the successful appeal and the contingent nature of the recovery. The court therefore granted the motion and awarded $16,173.30 in attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), to be paid from funds withheld from the plaintiff’s past-due benefits.
Because the attorney received the earlier Equal Access to Justice Act award, the court directed counsel to remit the $7,500 award to the plaintiff. The clerk was instructed to terminate the motion. The opinion’s caption identifies Andrew Saul as the defendant and explains that he was substituted for former Acting Commissioner Carolyn W. Colvin under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d).
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.