Vellone v. Saul
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:20-cv-00261
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Vellone v. Kijakazi: Judge Abrams awarded $15,151.41 in fees and costs after adopting an unchallenged recommendation.
The ruling affected Martha Vellone’s request for attorney’s fees in the Social Security case brought on behalf of Kenneth Vellone, and the Commissioner of Social Security.
What happened
In Vellone v. Kijakazi, Martha Vellone brought a case for her deceased ex-husband, Kenneth Vellone, challenging the denial of disability benefits. The case had already been sent back for further administrative proceedings.
Martha Vellone asked for attorney’s fees. A magistrate judge recommended awarding $15,151.41—$14,324.70 in fees and $826.71 in costs—but not awarding the requested $750 hourly rate based on the Commissioner’s alleged bad faith. Neither side objected to the recommendation.
Judge Ronnie Abrams found no clear error, adopted the recommendation in full, and granted the motion for attorney’s fees in the amount of $15,151.41. The court directed the clerk to close the case.
The detailed version
- Vellone v. Saul · No. 1:20-cv-00261
- Ronnie Abrams
- Feb. 15, 2022
Background
Martha Vellone brought this Social Security case on behalf of her deceased ex-husband, Kenneth Vellone. The case sought review of an administrative law judge’s denial of disability benefits. On July 6, 2021, the court remanded the case to the Commissioner of Social Security for further administrative proceedings.
On September 8, 2021, Vellone moved for attorney’s fees. The motion was considered together with a January 31, 2022 report and recommendation from Magistrate Judge Parker.
Report and Recommendation
The report recommended granting fees and costs totaling $15,151.41: $14,324.70 in attorney’s fees and $826.71 in costs. It recommended denying the request for market-rate fees of $750 per hour to the extent that request relied on the Commissioner’s alleged bad-faith conduct.
Neither party objected to the report. Because there were no objections, the court reviewed the report for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake in the record.
Ruling
The court found no clear error and adopted the report in its entirety. Judge Ronnie Abrams therefore granted Vellone’s motion for attorney’s fees in the amount of $15,151.41. The clerk was directed to terminate the pending fee motion and close the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.