Garcia v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Andrew Krause
- 7:20-cv-07836
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Garcia v. Commissioner, Judge Krause granted Garcia’s motion for $7,108.20 in Equal Access to Justice Act attorney’s fees.
Yomarie Garcia received an award of $7,108.20 in attorney’s fees from the Commissioner of Social Security under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
What happened
In Garcia v. Commissioner of Social Security, Yomarie Garcia had obtained a court-ordered reversal of the Commissioner’s decision and a remand for further administrative proceedings. Garcia then asked for attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
The Commissioner did not oppose the fee request. The court found no substantial justification for the Commissioner’s position and no special circumstances making an award unfair. It also found the hours and rates reasonable, despite the application’s use of one attorney rate for work performed in two different years.
Judge Andrew E. Krause granted Garcia’s motion and ordered an award of $7,108.20. The Clerk was directed to terminate the fee motion.
The detailed version
- Garcia v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 7:20-cv-07836
- Andrew Krause
- Feb. 23, 2022
Background
The court had previously approved the parties’ agreement to reverse the Commissioner of Social Security’s decision and send the matter back to the Commissioner for further administrative proceedings under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). The Clerk entered judgment in Yomarie Garcia’s favor on September 30, 2021.
Garcia later moved for $7,108.20 in attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The Commissioner did not file an opposition or ask for additional time to respond. The court noted that Garcia’s fee motion was timely.
Court’s analysis
The Equal Access to Justice Act generally requires an award of fees to a party who prevailed against the United States unless the government’s position was substantially justified or special circumstances would make an award unfair. The Commissioner had the burden of showing substantial justification. Because the Commissioner did not oppose the motion, the court could not conclude that the Commissioner’s position was substantially justified, and the court identified no special circumstances that would make an award unfair.
The court also reviewed whether the requested amount was reasonable. Garcia’s counsel requested compensation for 32.7 hours of attorney work at $216 per hour and 0.5 hours of paralegal work at $90 per hour. The court found the total hours reasonable in light of the issues, counsel’s experience, and the quality of the representation. It also found the paralegal rate reasonable.
The attorney work occurred in both 2020 and 2021, so the application should have used separate cost-of-living-adjusted rates for each year. The court nevertheless found the error harmless because applying the separate rates could have produced a slightly higher total than the amount requested. The court therefore found the requested $7,108.20 reasonable.
Disposition
Judge Andrew E. Krause granted Garcia’s motion for attorney’s fees and ordered that Garcia be awarded $7,108.20. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion at ECF No. 25.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.