Vega v. Berryhill
- Ona Wang
- 1:19-cv-01118-OTW
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
Vega v. Kijakazi, Judge Wang approved a $15,000 fee and required counsel to refund $6,947.61 to Vega.
Orlando Vega and his attorney, Lewis B. Insler, are directly affected. The Social Security Administration must approve the $15,000 payment, and Insler must refund $6,947.61 to Vega.
What happened
In Orlando Vega v. Kilolo Kijakazi, Vega asked the court to approve a $15,000 attorney-fee payment under a law governing fees in successful Social Security cases. His agreement with attorney Lewis B. Insler called for 25% of his past-due benefits after a court remand led to an award of benefits.
The court found that the requested fee was below the 25% legal limit, was not obtained through fraud or improper pressure, and was not an unreasonable windfall because Insler spent 32.91 hours on the case and helped obtain a favorable result. The Commissioner did not object to the request.
Judge Wang granted Vega’s motion. She directed the Social Security Administration to approve payment of $15,000 to Insler and required Insler to promptly refund $6,947.61 in previously awarded fees to Vega.
The detailed version
- Vega v. Berryhill · No. 1:19-cv-01118-OTW
- Ona Wang
- May 3, 2022
Background
Orlando Vega moved for attorney fees under Section 406(b) of the Social Security Act. His written contingency-fee agreement with attorney Lewis B. Insler provided that, if the federal court remanded Vega’s Social Security case and Vega later received past-due benefits, Vega would pay 25% of those benefits as an attorney fee.
The federal court had remanded Vega’s case to the Social Security Administration, and the agency later found that Vega was disabled and entitled to benefits. Vega asked the court to approve a $15,000 payment to Insler. The Social Security Administration’s January 11, 2022 notice stated that it had withheld $28,645 from Vega’s past-due benefits for legal fees. The Commissioner did not object to the requested fee but noted that Insler had already received $6,947.61 under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a federal law that permits certain fee awards against the government.
Court’s analysis
Section 406(b) permits a court to approve a reasonable fee for an attorney who represented a claimant in court, up to 25% of the claimant’s past-due benefits. The court explained that contingency-fee agreements are the primary way fees are set in successful Social Security cases, but courts independently review them for reasonableness.
The court considered whether the requested fee exceeded the 25% limit, whether the agreement resulted from fraud or improper pressure, and whether the fee would be an unreasonable windfall to counsel. It found that all three considerations supported approval. The $15,000 request was within the statutory limit, there was no evidence of fraud or improper pressure, and Insler’s 32.91 hours of work were reasonable. The work included preparing legal memoranda, conducting legal research, and reviewing a 620-page administrative record.
Because Insler had also received the $6,947.61 Equal Access to Justice Act fee, the court noted that he had to refund that smaller fee to Vega after receiving the Section 406(b) payment. This refund requirement ensures that Vega does not pay both fees out of the past-due benefits.
Disposition
Judge Wang granted Vega’s unopposed motion. The court directed the Social Security Administration to approve a $15,000 payment to Lewis B. Insler and ordered Insler to promptly refund $6,947.61 to Vega upon receiving the payment.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.