Lawyer v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Nelson Roman
- 7:19-cv-05474-NSR-AEK
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Lawyer v. Commissioner: Judge Roman denied Lawyer’s motion for attorney fees and expenses after adopting a magistrate judge’s recommendation.
Steve Lawyer’s request for attorney fees and expenses was denied, and the Commissioner was not ordered to pay those amounts.
What happened
In Lawyer v. Commissioner of Social Security, Steve Lawyer challenged the denial of his applications for Supplemental Security Income. The parties later agreed to send the matter back to the Social Security Administration for further proceedings.
Lawyer then asked for attorney fees and expenses. The parties’ agreement stated that each side would pay its own fees, costs, and expenses, and neither party objected to the magistrate judge’s recommendation that the request be denied.
Judge Nelson S. Roman reviewed the recommendation for clear error, found none, adopted it in full, and denied Lawyer’s motion for attorney fees and expenses.
The detailed version
- Lawyer v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 7:19-cv-05474-NSR-AEK
- Nelson Roman
- Apr. 20, 2023
Background
Steve Lawyer brought an action under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), challenging the Commissioner of Social Security’s administrative decision denying his applications for Supplemental Security Income. By a June 2, 2021 stipulation and order, the parties agreed to remand the matter to the Social Security Administration for further proceedings.
On August 31, 2021, Lawyer moved for attorney fees and expenses under 28 U.S.C. § 2412. The matter was referred to Magistrate Judge Andrew Krause, who issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that the motion be denied. Neither party filed a timely objection.
Court’s analysis
Because no timely objection was filed, the district court reviewed the Report and Recommendation for clear error. The court explained that the parties’ stipulation provided in clear and unambiguous terms that each party would bear its own attorney fees, costs, and expenses. The court found no clear error in Magistrate Judge Krause’s analysis.
Ruling
The court adopted the Report and Recommendation in its entirety and denied Lawyer’s motion for attorney fees and expenses. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion at ECF No. 27.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.