Polanco v. Commissioner of Social Security

Background

The court had previously sent Polanco’s Social Security case back to the Commissioner for further proceedings under Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). In a January 17, 2023, notice, the Social Security Administration stated that Polanco was owed benefits and had withheld $18,034.50 from his past-due benefits to pay a representative.

Polanco’s attorney, Daniel Berger, moved under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) for a net fee award of $18,034.50. Section 406(b) permits a court to award a reasonable fee to an attorney who successfully represents a Social Security claimant in court, subject to a limit of 25 percent of the claimant’s past-due benefits. The fee is paid from, rather than added to, those benefits.

Reasoning

The court applied the framework from Gisbrecht v. Barnhart, which directs courts to begin with the attorney-client contingency-fee agreement and then determine whether the requested amount is reasonable. The court also considered whether the fee exceeded the statutory 25-percent limit, whether fraud or overreaching affected the agreement, and whether the fee would be an improper windfall—meaning compensation to which the attorney was not entitled or payment that would be unfair or harmful to the claimant.

The requested $18,034.50 was not greater than 25 percent of Polanco’s past-due benefits and was consistent with the contingency-fee agreement. The Commissioner stated that he was aware of no evidence of fraud or overreaching. Counsel reported spending 34.7 hours on the district-court case, producing a de facto hourly rate of $519.73. The court explained that it was not required to calculate a standard hourly fee and could not rely exclusively on that method.

The court found no challenge to the quality of counsel’s representation and no apparent deficiency in the record. It said counsel had diligently prosecuted the appeal, submitted comprehensive briefing on complex issues, achieved a reversal that eventually led to significant past-due benefits, and accepted the risk of not being paid. The court also considered counsel’s experience in Social Security cases and noted that other courts in the district had approved comparable or higher effective hourly rates.

The court noted that it had previously awarded $7,493.80 in fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, but that the entire amount had been applied to a pre-existing debt owed by Polanco. Because counsel had not received those fees, the court stated that counsel was not required to refund them to Polanco. Counsel also affirmed that he would not seek total fees exceeding 25 percent under any combined request under Sections 406(a) and 406(b).

Disposition

Judge Gary R. Jones granted Polanco’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees Under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), Docket No. 34. The court approved $18,034.50 in fees under Section 406(b)(1), payable from the past-due benefits that the Social Security Administration was withholding.

Classification note

This is a fee award ancillary to the underlying Social Security dispute. Under the stated classification convention, it is a procedural order rather than a decision on the underlying benefits question.