Gondola v. Berryhill
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:18-cv-03173-VEC-BCM
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Gondola v. Berryhill, Judge Caproni adopted the recommendation, granted counsel’s fee motion, awarded $10,143.35, and denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
Niki Catrina Gondola’s counsel received an additional $10,143.35 in attorney’s fees. The order also closed the case and prevented appellate review based on the parties’ failure to object.
What happened
In Gondola v. Berryhill, Niki Catrina Gondola sought review of the Social Security Administration’s denial of her disability-benefits application. The parties later agreed to reverse that denial and send the matter back for further administrative proceedings. After Gondola received benefits, her counsel requested additional attorney’s fees based on benefits awarded to Gondola’s child.
A magistrate judge recommended granting the additional-fee motion and awarding counsel $10,143.35. Neither party objected after receiving notice that failing to object could prevent later appellate review. The district court found no clear error in the recommendation, while criticizing counsel’s handling of the fee applications.
Judge Caproni adopted the recommendation in full, granted the motion, and awarded counsel an additional $10,143.35 in attorney’s fees. The court closed the case, stated that appellate review was precluded, and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
The detailed version
- Gondola v. Berryhill · No. 1:18-cv-03173-VEC-BCM
- Valerie Caproni
- Aug. 12, 2022
Background
Niki Catrina Gondola filed an action seeking review of the Social Security Administration’s denial of her application for disability benefits. The parties later filed a joint agreement to reverse the denial and remand the matter for further administrative proceedings. The court previously addressed attorney-fee requests connected to Gondola’s benefits. After benefits were awarded to Gondola’s child, counsel sought additional fees under Gondola’s agreement to pay counsel 25% of past-due benefits.
The defendant stated that she could not join a stipulation resolving the additional-fee request because she was not a real party in interest. Counsel therefore renewed the motion for additional fees.
Report and Recommendation
Magistrate Judge Moses recommended granting the motion and awarding Gondola’s counsel an additional $10,143.35 in attorney’s fees. The recommendation explained that the parties had fourteen days to submit written objections and warned that failure to object could waive objections and prevent appellate review.
Neither party objected. When no objection is filed, the district court may accept the recommendation if review of the record shows no obvious error. Judge Caproni found no such error. She nevertheless criticized counsel’s fee filings, noting that they had repeatedly been amended, corrected, or withdrawn and that more than 10% of the submitted time entries did not concern this case.
Ruling
Judge Caproni adopted the Report and Recommendation in full, granted the motion, and awarded Gondola’s counsel an additional $10,143.35 in attorney’s fees. The Clerk was directed to close the case and terminate any open motions.
The court also ruled that the parties’ failure to object, despite adequate warning, precluded appellate review of the decision. Because appellate review was precluded, the court certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying the required fees for an appeal.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.