Terwilliger v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Cathy Seibel
- 7:12-cv-06782
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Terwilliger v. Commissioner, Judge Seibel deferred ruling on counsel’s Social Security fee request and ordered missing documents by June 7.
Laura Terwilliger and her attorney: the attorney’s request for fees from Terwilliger’s past-due Social Security benefits was not resolved, and the attorney was given until June 7, 2021, to provide supporting documents.
What happened
In Terwilliger v. Commissioner of Social Security, Laura Terwilliger’s attorney asked for $21,643.50 in fees for work performed in the federal case after the matter was sent back for further administrative proceedings. The Commissioner did not oppose the request.
The court could not determine whether the requested fee was 25% or less of Terwilliger’s past-due benefits because counsel had not provided a referenced Social Security Administration letter and other supporting documentation. The court also could not determine whether counsel had received an earlier fee award under a separate federal law that might have to be returned to Terwilliger.
Judge Cathy Seibel deferred a ruling and gave counsel one final opportunity to provide the missing information by June 7, 2021. The order states that the fee motion will be denied if the information is not supplied by that date.
The detailed version
- Terwilliger v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 7:12-cv-06782
- Cathy Seibel
- June 3, 2021
Background
Laura Terwilliger filed the case against the Commissioner of Social Security on September 7, 2012. A stipulation and court order sent the matter back to the Commissioner for additional administrative proceedings on March 13, 2013. On March 3, 2018, Terwilliger’s attorney filed a motion for attorney’s fees under Section 206 of the Social Security Act, including 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). The Commissioner did not oppose the motion.
Fee request
Section 406(b) allows a court to award a reasonable fee to an attorney who successfully represented a Social Security claimant, with the fee paid from the claimant’s past-due benefits. The fee may not exceed 25% of those benefits. Counsel requested $21,643.50 for 74.25 hours of work before the court, which the opinion describes as an effective hourly rate of $291.49.
Court’s action
The court had previously deferred ruling because the fee application referred to a Social Security Administration letter authorizing $7,214 for representation before that agency, but the letter was not attached. The application also stated that the Social Security Administration was withholding $21,643.50—described as 25% of withheld past-due benefits—but provided no documentation supporting that statement.
The court ordered counsel on May 19, 2021, to provide the missing letter and documentation by June 2. By June 3, counsel had not supplied them; filing proposed orders did not satisfy the court’s request. The court also explained that, if counsel had received fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, those fees generally must be returned to Terwilliger when counsel also receives a fee under Section 406(b). Without the missing documents, the court could not determine whether the requested fee complied with the 25% limit or whether any prior fee had been paid.
Judge Cathy Seibel gave counsel one last opportunity to provide the information by June 7, 2021. The order states that the motion for attorney’s fees will be denied if the missing information is not supplied. The opinion therefore deferred the fee ruling rather than granting or denying the motion as of June 3.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.