Obremski v. Commissioner of Social Security

Background

Michael Obremski applied for Social Security disability benefits in 2016. An administrative law judge denied his claim after a hearing, and the agency’s Appeals Council denied further review. Obremski then filed this federal case and retained Binder & Binder LLP as counsel.

In July 2021, the court granted Obremski’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, denied the Commissioner’s cross-motion, and sent the case back to the Social Security Administration for additional proceedings. The agency later found that Obremski became disabled on November 4, 2016 and awarded him $161,369 in past-due benefits.

Under the parties’ contingency-fee agreement, Obremski agreed to pay counsel 25% of his past-due benefits. The agency withheld $40,342.25 for that purpose. Obremski’s counsel moved under Section 206(b) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), for court approval of that fee. The Commissioner did not oppose the requested amount and deferred to the court’s reasonableness determination.

Legal standard

Section 406(b) allows a court to approve a reasonable fee for an attorney’s federal-court representation in a successful Social Security case, up to 25% of the claimant’s past-due benefits. The court must independently review the fee agreement, even when the claimant agreed to a contingency fee. It must determine whether the agreement falls within the 25% limit and whether fraud or overreaching occurred.

The court also considers whether the fee matches the quality of the representation and the results achieved, whether counsel unreasonably delayed the case, and whether the benefits are large compared with the time counsel spent. The court may consider awards under the Equal Access to Justice Act, a separate federal fee statute. When counsel receives fees under both statutes for the same work, counsel must refund the smaller fee to the claimant.

Court’s analysis

The requested fee equaled the 25% percentage in the agreement, and the court found no evidence of fraud or overreaching. The court found that counsel provided quality representation by reviewing an 888-page administrative record, successfully obtaining a remand, and ultimately securing past-due benefits for Obremski.

The court found no evidence that counsel delayed the proceedings to increase the fee. Counsel reported spending 35.4 hours on the federal-court proceedings. Although the resulting effective hourly rate was $1,139.61, the court determined that the fee was not an improper windfall because counsel’s efforts were particularly successful, the case required substantial work, and the requested fee reflected the risks of a contingency arrangement and counsel’s experience.

The court also ruled that counsel had to return the earlier $7,486.39 Equal Access to Justice Act award to Obremski because that was the smaller fee for the same federal-court work.

Disposition

The court granted the motion for attorney’s fees. It awarded Obremski’s counsel $40,342.25, payable to Charles E. Binder, and directed counsel, upon receiving that amount, to refund $7,486.39 to Obremski. The clerk was directed to close the fee-motion docket and mark it as granted.