Jokhio v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Edgardo Ramos
- 1:17-cv-07168-ER-KHP
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 6
In Jokhio v. Commissioner, Judge Ramos granted counsel $21,269.25 in fees and ordered a $6,500 refund to Jokhio.
Lal Muhammad Jokhio and his attorneys at the Binder Firm; the ruling authorizes $21,269.25 in fees from his past-due benefits and requires counsel to refund $6,500 previously paid under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
What happened
In Jokhio v. Commissioner of Social Security, the court approved a request for $21,269.25 in attorney fees after Jokhio received past-due disability benefits. The amount was 25% of his $85,077 benefits award.
Jokhio initially brought the case without a lawyer after his benefits application was denied. He later hired the Binder Firm, and the case was sent back for further administrative proceedings. After several hearings and remands, an administrative law judge found him disabled for a closed period and awarded the past-due benefits. The Commissioner did not take a position on the fee request.
Judge Edgardo Ramos ruled that the fee was reasonable under the Social Security Act because it was within the 25% limit, there was no evidence of fraud or overreaching, counsel did not cause delay, and the fee was not an improper windfall. Because counsel had already received $6,500 under the Equal Access to Justice Act for the same work, the court ordered counsel to refund that amount to Jokhio.
The detailed version
- Jokhio v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:17-cv-07168-ER-KHP
- Edgardo Ramos
- Jan. 26, 2024
Background
Lal Muhammad Jokhio sued the Commissioner of Social Security to challenge the denial of his applications for Social Security Disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income benefits. He filed the federal case without a lawyer in 2017. In 2018, he retained Charles E. Binder & Harry J. Binder Attorneys at Law, LLP (the “Binder Firm”) under an agreement allowing the firm to receive up to 25% of any past-due benefits award.
The parties agreed to send the case back to the Commissioner for additional administrative proceedings. The Commissioner also agreed to pay $6,500 in attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. After additional hearings and Appeals Council remands, Administrative Law Judge Angela Banks found Jokhio disabled for a closed period from June 4, 2012, through December 2, 2020. The Social Security Administration awarded Jokhio $85,077 in past-due benefits and withheld $21,269.25—25% of that award—for attorney fees.
Attorney Daniel S. Jones spent 31.8 hours on the federal court appeal, and attorney Charles E. Binder spent 3 hours. The Binder Firm moved for $21,269.25 in fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). The Commissioner did not take a position on the motion.
Legal standard
Section 406(b) allows a court to approve a reasonable fee for an attorney who represented a claimant in federal court, but the fee cannot exceed 25% of the past-due benefits awarded because of the court judgment. The court independently reviews a contingency-fee agreement to ensure that it produces a reasonable result and was not obtained through fraud or overreaching.
The court considered whether the requested fee matched the character of the representation and the result achieved, whether counsel caused delay, and whether the fee would be an improper “windfall”—a fee disproportionate to the work performed and the uncertainty of the case.
Court’s analysis
The court found that the requested fee was within the statutory 25% limit and that there was no evidence of fraud or overreaching. It also found no indication that counsel caused delay or deliberately slowed the case to increase the fee. Jokhio prevailed in obtaining benefits, and neither he nor the Commissioner expressed dissatisfaction with counsel’s representation.
The court concluded that the award was not a windfall. It cited counsel’s substantial experience with Social Security disability cases, the considerable length of the attorney-client relationship, Jokhio’s lack of objection, and the uncertainty of obtaining benefits when counsel became involved. The court therefore found the requested fee reasonable.
Disposition
Judge Edgardo Ramos granted counsel’s motion for $21,269.25 in attorney fees. Because counsel had already received $6,500 under the Equal Access to Justice Act for the same work, the court ordered counsel to refund $6,500 to Jokhio upon receiving the § 406(b) fee.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.