Quiambao v. Berryhill
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Cynthia Ann Bashant (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff's counsel moved for attorney's fees of $10,000 under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) following a successful appeal of a Social Security disability denial. The Court granted the motion, finding the requested fee reasonable.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Motion for Attorney's Fees (ECF No. 17) granted in the amount of $10,000.“The Motion for Attorney’s Fees in the amount of $10,000 (ECF No. 17) is GRANTED.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the statutory cap of 25% of past-due benefits. The requested fee of $10,000 is approximately 11.8% of the $84,601.00 in past-due benefits, which is well below the statutory maximum and the 25% contingency fee agreed upon by the parties. The court noted that counsel documented 56 hours of work, supporting the reasonableness of the fee. No grounds for reduction (such as substandard performance or delay) were identified or argued. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and applies the relevant Ninth Circuit precedent (Crawford) and Supreme Court precedent (Gisbrecht) appropriately. It identifies the statutory cap, the agreed-upon contingency rate, the actual past-due benefits, and the hours worked. The conclusion that the fee is reasonable follows logically from the fact that the requested amount is significantly below both the statutory cap and the contractual contingency rate, with no evidence of misconduct or inefficiency.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ARLEEN Y. QUIAMBAO, Case No. 17-cv-02305-BAS-RBB 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR 13 v. ATTORNEY’S FEES (ECF No. 17)
14 NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, 15 Defendant. 16 17 18 After successfully representing a Social Security disability benefits claimant, Ms. 19 Quiambao, in federal court, her counsel seeks attorney’s fees in the amount of $10,000. 20 (Mot. for Atty’s Fees, ECF No. 17.) The Government, in its role “resembling that of a 21 trustee,” see Gisbrecht v. Barnhart, 535 U.S. 789, 798 n.6 (2002), takes no position with 22 respect to the request. (ECF No. 19.) The Court agrees that the requested attorney’s fees 23 are reasonable and GRANTS the request. 24 Counsel entered into a contingency agreement with Plaintiff whereby she agreed to 25 pay 25% of past-due benefits awarded. (ECF No. 17-7.) After a successful appeal to this 26 Court and remand to the Commissioner, Plaintiff was awarded past due benefits of 27 $84,601.00. (Mot. for Atty’s Fees Attachs. A and B.) 28 1 Under 42 U.S.C. §406(b)(1)(A), counsel for a successful claimant, appealing the 2 denial of Social Security disability benefits, may receive a fee if the Court determines the 3 || fee requested is reasonable and “not in excess of twenty-five percent of the total of the past- 4 || due benefits to which the claimant is entitled” by reason of such appeal. Generally, a Court 5 ||is required to credit a contingency fee agreement but may reduce the amount of the award 6 || for substandard performance, delay, or benefits that are not proportionate to the time spent 7 ||on the case. Crawford v. Astrue, 586 F.3d 1142, 1151 (9th Cir. 2009). In this case, counsel 8 |/requests less than the 25% contingency fee and documents 56 hours expended in pursuing 9 || the appeal in the federal district court. (ECF No. 17-4.) 10 The Court, therefore, finds that the requested attorney’s fees in the amount of 11 |/$10,000 is reasonable and should not be reduced. The Motion for Attorney’s Fees in the 12 || amount of $10,000 (ECF No. 17) is GRANTED. 13 IT IS SO ORDERED. 14 A , 15 DATED: January 28, 2021 (Yin A (Lyohan. 16 United States District Judge 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 _9.