Jones v. Saul
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:19-cv-05542
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Jones v. Saul, Judge Schofield granted counsel $36,608.38 in Social Security fees and required a $7,760 refund to Willie L. Jones.
Willie L. Jones and his counsel, Frederick J. Daley, Jr.; the order approved counsel’s fee and required counsel to refund Jones’s prior $7,760 Equal Access to Justice Act fee.
What happened
In Willie L. Jones v. Andrew Saul, the plaintiff’s counsel asked the court to approve attorneys’ fees after successfully obtaining an award of benefits for Jones in federal court. The request was based on a contingent-fee agreement and sought 25 percent of Jones’s past-due benefits.
The court found that the request was filed on time and that the fee was reasonable. Counsel’s work included reviewing an almost 500-page administrative record and preparing a thorough brief; the court also found no improper delay and credited counsel’s experience and efficiency.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield granted the motion and awarded counsel $36,608.38. Because counsel had previously received a $7,760 fee under the Equal Access to Justice Act, counsel must promptly refund that amount to Jones after receiving the new award.
The detailed version
- Jones v. Saul · No. 1:19-cv-05542
- Lorna Schofield
- May 24, 2021
Background
On April 28, 2021, Plaintiff’s counsel, Frederick J. Daley, Jr., filed a petition for attorneys’ fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b)(1). The Commissioner filed a response on May 12, 2021. The petition sought $36,608.38, equal to 25 percent of the past-due benefits awarded to Willie L. Jones after counsel successfully represented him in federal court.
Timeliness
The court held that the petition was timely. The Commissioner’s notice calculating benefits was issued on April 12, 2021. Applying a three-day presumption for receipt by mail and a 14-day filing period, the court calculated a deadline of April 29, 2021. Counsel filed the petition on April 28, 2021.
Reasonableness of the Fee
Section 406(b)(1)(A) permits a court to authorize a reasonable fee of up to 25 percent of a Social Security claimant’s past-due benefits when the claimant succeeds in federal court. The court considered the success of the representation, whether counsel caused delay, and whether the benefits were large compared with the time spent on the case.
Counsel reported 44.3 hours spent by lawyers and legal assistants on the federal-court litigation. The Commissioner identified 36.2 attorney hours, which produced a calculated hourly rate of $1,045.40; counsel calculated a rate of $871.52 using the larger number of hours. The court found the higher rate reasonable because counsel succeeded after Jones had not prevailed before the Social Security Administration with other counsel, submitted a thorough brief based on a review of the nearly 500-page administrative record, and handled the matter efficiently with extensive experience. The court also found no flaw in the representation and no evidence that counsel caused delay.
EAJA Refund and Disposition
Counsel acknowledged that he must refund the $7,760 fee previously awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act. When fees are awarded under both that statute and Section 406(b), counsel must refund the smaller fee to the claimant.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield ordered that the motion for attorneys’ fees was GRANTED and awarded Frederick J. Daley, Jr. $36,608.38. Upon receiving that sum, counsel must promptly refund $7,760 to Jones. The clerk was directed to close the motion at docket entry 27.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.