Michael David Altamirano v. Martin O’Malley, Commissioner of Social Security
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Barbara Lynn Major (author)
Analysis
The court considered a joint motion by the plaintiff and defendant for an award of attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) following a sentence four remand in a Social Security disability case. The court granted the motion and awarded the plaintiff $8,194.77 in attorney's fees and $0 in costs.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the Joint Motion for the Award of Attorney Fees pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act“Having considered the joint motion and finding the stipulated amount of fees and expenses reasonable, the Court GRANTS the joint motion and AWARDS Plaintiff attorney’s fees in the total amount of $8,194.77 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412 and costs in the amount of $0 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 1920, subject to the terms of the parties’ joint motion [see No. 26].” | agree with court The court correctly identified that a sentence four remand constitutes a final judgment for EAJA purposes upon the expiration of the appeal period, and that the plaintiff is a prevailing party. The court found the stipulated amount reasonable, which is the standard approach for joint EAJA motions where the parties agree on the amount and the court performs a reasonableness check. The order recites the necessary facts (remand date, motion date) to support the timeliness finding. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and relies on the appropriate Ninth Circuit precedent (Akopyan) to establish finality and prevailing party status. It correctly applies the EAJA statute. The reasoning is concise but sufficient for a joint motion where the amount is stipulated.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 Case No.: 23CV0601-BLM 11 MICHAEL DAVID ALTAMIRANO, 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION FOR THE AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES 13 v. PURUSANT TO THE EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d) 14 MARTIN O’MALLEY, Commissioner of Social Security,1 15 [ECF No. 26] Defendant. 16 17 18 19 On April 4, 2023, Plaintiff filed a complaint in this matter seeking judicial review of the 20 denial of his application “for Social Security Disability [and Supplemental Security Income 21 disability] benefits for lack of disability.” ECF No. 1. 22 On May 3, 2024, the Court granted Plaintiff’s merits brief and reversed and remanded for 23 further proceedings. ECF No. 24 at 15. 24 On August 2, 2024, the parties filed a Joint Motion for the Award Of Attorney Fees 25 Pursuant To The Equal Access To Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). ECF No. 26. 26 27 1 Martin O’Malley is now the Commissioner of Social Security and is automatically substituted 1 The EAJA allows a prevailing party to seek attorney's fees from the United States within 2 thirty days of final judgment. 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). “A sentence four remand becomes a final 3 ||judgment, for purposes of attorneys’ fees claims brought pursuant to the EAJA, 28 4 ||U.S.C. § 2412(d), upon expiration of the time for appeal.” Akopyan v. Barnhart, 296 F.3d 852, 5 || 854 (9th Cir. 2002). If one of the parties is the United States, either party may file a notice of 6 || appeal within sixty days of the order appealed from. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B). “A plaintiff 7 ||who obtains a sentence four remand is considered a prevailing party for attorneys’ 8 || fees.” Akopyan, 296 F.3d at 854. Plaintiff is the prevailing party in this action for purposes of 9 || attorney's fees, the parties’ joint motion is timely, and the Court finds the stipulated amount of 10 || fees and expenses reasonable. 11 Having considered the joint motion and finding the stipulated amount of fees and 12 expenses reasonable, the Court GRANTS the joint motion and AWARDS Plaintiff attorney’s 13 || fees in the total amount of $8,194.77 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412 and costs in the amount 14 || of $0 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 1920, subject to the terms of the parties’ joint motion [see 15 No. 26]. Fees will be made payable to Michael David Altamirano, but if the Department of 16 Treasury determines that Michael David Altamirano does not owe a federal debt, then the 17 || government will cause the payment of fees, expenses, and costs to be made directly to Jonathan 18 || Peha DBA Pena and Bromberg, PLC, 3467 W. Shaw Avenue, Suite 100, Fresno, CA 93711. Any 19 || payments will be delivered to Jonathan Pena. 20 IT IS SO ORDERED. 21 22 || Dated: 8/5/2024 lobe Mager 23 Hon. Barbara L. Major United States Maqistrate Judde 24 25 26 27 28