Mustain v. Kijakazi
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Barbara Lynn Major (author)
Analysis
The court considered a joint motion by the plaintiff and defendant for the award of attorney's fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) and costs under 28 U.S.C. § 1920 following a voluntary remand. The court granted the motion, awarding the plaintiff $5,700.00 in fees and $0.00 in costs.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the Joint Motion for the Award and Payment of Attorney Fees and Expenses Pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d) and Costs Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920“the Court GRANTS the joint motion and AWARDS Plaintiff attorney’s fees and expenses in the total amount of $5,700.00 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412 and costs the amount of $0.00 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 1920” | agree with court The court correctly identifies the plaintiff as a prevailing party under the EAJA following a sentence four remand, cites the correct authority for the timeliness and prevailing party status, and finds the stipulated amount reasonable. The decision follows from the law and the record recited in the order. |
The order itself: sound — The order is a standard, short-form ruling on a joint EAJA motion. It correctly applies the Ninth Circuit precedent (Akopyan) to establish that the plaintiff is a prevailing party and that the remand order constitutes a final judgment for fee purposes. It confirms timeliness and reasonableness of the stipulated fees. The reasoning is sufficient for the type of motion presented.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 Case No.: 21cv1392-BLM 11 KACY NICHOLE MUSTAIN, 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION FOR THE AWARD AND PAYMENT OF 13 v. ATTORNEY FEES AND EXPENSES PURSUANT TO THE EQUAL ACCESS TO 14 KILOLO KIJAKAZI, ACTING COMMISSIONER JUSTICE ACT, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d) AND OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 15 COSTS PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1920 Defendant. 16 [ECF NO. 22] 17 18 On August 3, 2021, Plaintiff filed a complaint in this matter seeking judicial review of the 19 denial of her application “for a period of disability, disability insurance benefits, and supplemental 20 security income benefits.” ECF No. 1. 21 On December 5, 2022, the parties filed a Joint Motion for Voluntary Remand. ECF No. 22 19. The Court granted the motion on December 6, 2022. ECF No. 20. 23 On February 22, 2023, the parties filed a Joint Motion for the Award and Payment of 24 Attorney Fees and Expenses Pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d) 25 and Costs Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920. ECF No. 22. 26 The EAJA allows a prevailing party to seek attorney’s fees from the United States within 27 thirty days of final judgment. 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). “A sentence four remand becomes a final 1 judgment, for purposes of attorneys’ fees claims brought pursuant to the EAJA, 28 U.S.C. § 2 ||2412(d), upon expiration of the time for appeal.” Akopyan v. Barnhart, 296 F.3d 852, 854 (9th 3 ||Cir. 2002). If one of the parties is the United States, either party may file a notice of appeal 4 || within sixty days of the order appealed from. See Fed. R. App. 4(a)(1)(B). “A plaintiff who 5 || obtains a sentence four remand is considered a prevailing party for attorneys’ fees.” Akopyan, 6 F.3d at 854. Plaintiff is the prevailing party in this action for purposes of attorney’s fees, 7 || the parties’ joint motion is timely, and the Court finds the stipulated amount of fees and expenses 8 || reasonable. 9 Having considered the joint motion and finding the stipulated amount of fees and 10 || expenses reasonable, the Court GRANTS the joint motion and AWARDS Plaintiff attorney’s 11 || fees and expenses in the total amount of $5,700.00 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412 and costs 12 the amount of $0.00 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 1920, subject to the terms of the parties’ 13 || joint motion [see ECF No. 22]. Fees will be made payable to Kacy Nichole Mustain, but if the 14 || Department of the Treasury determines that Kacy Nichole Mustain does not owe a federal debt, 15 the government will cause the payment of fees, expenses, and costs to be made directly 16 the Law Offices of Lawrence D. Rohlfing, Inc., CPC pursuant to the assignment executed by 17 || Kacy Nichole Mustain [see ECF No. 22-1]. Any payments will be delivered to Steven G. Rosales. 18 IT IS SO ORDERED. 19 20 Dated: 2/27/2023 lobe Mager 71 Hon. Barbara L. Major United States Maqistrate Judde 22 23 24 25 26 27 28