Hollis v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:19-cv-10946
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hollis v. Commissioner of Social Security, Judge Schofield denied Hollis’s Equal Access to Justice Act fee motion as untimely.
Cheryl Lynn Hollis’s request for attorney’s fees was denied; the opinion does not alter the previously entered judgment remanding the action to the Commissioner of Social Security.
What happened
In Hollis v. Commissioner of Social Security, the parties agreed that the case should be sent back to the Social Security Commissioner, and the Clerk entered judgment for Hollis.
Hollis later requested attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The court explained that such requests generally must be filed within 30 days after a final, nonappealable judgment.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield denied the fee motion as untimely because Hollis filed it 86 days after judgment was entered. The Clerk was directed to close the motion.
The detailed version
- Hollis v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:19-cv-10946
- Lorna Schofield
- Jan. 11, 2021
Background
On October 13, 2020, the parties agreed to reverse the Social Security decision and remand, or send back, the action to the Commissioner of Social Security. The Clerk of Court then entered judgment in favor of Cheryl Lynn Hollis.
On January 7, 2021, Hollis moved for attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a federal law that can allow a prevailing party to recover fees from the government. Hollis argued that judgment had been entered, had not been appealed, and that she had prevailed because the court remanded the case under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).
Timeliness Rules
The court discussed two filing deadlines. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54 generally requires a request for attorney’s fees to be filed within 14 days after judgment. The Equal Access to Justice Act requires a fee application to be filed within 30 days after a “final judgment,” which the statute defines as a judgment that is final and not appealable. The court also cited authority stating that a judgment becomes final 60 days after entry if the federal agency does not appeal.
Ruling
Judge Lorna G. Schofield denied the motion as untimely because it was filed 86 days after the Clerk entered judgment. The Clerk was directed to close the motion at Docket No. 23.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.