Federico v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Analisa Torres
- 1:20-cv-02220-AT-OTW
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Federico v. Commissioner of Social Security, Judge Torres granted Federico’s fee motion, directing payment of $23,540 and a $7,235 refund.
Mariangela Elizabeth Federico, her counsel, and the Commissioner of Social Security.
What happened
In Federico v. Commissioner of Social Security, Mariangela Elizabeth Federico moved for an award of attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b).
The court referred the motion to Judge Ona T. Wang, who recommended granting it. No one objected to that recommendation before the objection deadline passed.
Judge Analisa Torres found no clear error, adopted Judge Wang’s recommendation in full, and directed the Commissioner to approve a $23,540 payment to Federico’s counsel. After receiving that payment, counsel must refund $7,235 to Federico.
The detailed version
- Federico v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:20-cv-02220-AT-OTW
- Analisa Torres
- July 11, 2023
Background
Mariangela Elizabeth Federico filed a motion for attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). The opinion does not address the underlying Social Security dispute or explain the amount of any earlier fee award.
Report and Recommendation
Judge Torres referred the fee motion to Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang. Judge Wang issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that Federico’s motion be granted. The parties were notified that they could object, but no objections were filed, and the time to object expired.
Ruling
Judge Torres reviewed the recommendation for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake, and found none. She adopted Judge Wang’s Report and Recommendation in its entirety. The court directed the Commissioner to approve payment of $23,540 to Federico’s counsel. Once counsel receives that payment, counsel must refund $7,235 to Federico. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the fee motion.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.