Smith 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 costs following a voluntary remand of a Social Security disability case. The court granted the motion, awarding the plaintiff $7,500.00 in fees and $615.00 in costs.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the Joint Motion for the Award and Payment of Attorney Fees and Costs“the Court GRANTS the joint motion and AWARDS Plaintiff attorney’s fees and expenses in the total amount of $7,500.00 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412 and costs in the amount of $615.00 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 1920” | agree with court The court correctly applied the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) principles. It established that the plaintiff was a 'prevailing party' due to the sentence four remand, cited the correct authority for the timing of the fee application (final judgment upon expiration of appeal time), and found the stipulated amount reasonable. The decision follows directly from the statute and the cited case law. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate binding authority (Akopyan) to support the determination of prevailing party status and timeliness. The court's finding that the stipulated fees are reasonable is a standard judicial function in EAJA cases. There are no gaps in the reasoning provided for this specific type of motion.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 Case No.: 22cv1284-BLM 11 GARY DORN SMITH, 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION FOR THE AWARD AND PAYMENT OF 13 v. ATTORNEY FEES AND COSTS PURSUANT TO THE EQUAL ACCESS TO 14 KILOLO KIJAKAZI, acting Commissioner of JUSTICE ACT, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d) AND Social Security, 15 COSTS PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1920 Defendant. 16 [ECF NO. 18] 17 18 On August 30, 2022, Plaintiff filed a complaint in this matter seeking judicial review of 19 the denial of his application for “Disability Insurance Benefits under Title II of the Social Security 20 Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 416(I) and 423, respectively.” ECF No. 1. 21 On January 9, 2023, the parties filed a Joint Motion for Voluntary Remand. ECF No. 15. 22 The Court granted the motion that same day. ECF No. 16. 23 On March 6, 2023, the parties filed a Stipulation for EAJA Fees and Costs. ECF No. 18. 24 The EAJA allows a prevailing party to seek attorney’s fees from the United States within 25 thirty days of final judgment. 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). “A sentence four remand becomes a final 26 judgment, for purposes of attorneys’ fees claims brought pursuant to the EAJA, 28 U.S.C. § 27 2412(d), upon expiration of the time for appeal.” Akopyan v. Barnhart, 296 F.3d 852, 854 (9th 1 2002). If one of the parties is the United States, either party may file a notice of appeal 2 || within sixty days of the order appealed from. See Fed. R. App. 4(a)(1)(B). “A plaintiff who 3 || obtains a sentence four remand is considered a prevailing party for attorneys’ fees.” Akopyan, 4 || 296 F.3d at 854. Plaintiff is the prevailing party in this action for purposes of attorney’s fees, 5 || the parties’ joint motion is timely, and the Court finds the stipulated amount of fees and expenses 6 || reasonable. 7 Having considered the joint motion and finding the stipulated amount of fees and 8 expenses reasonable, the Court GRANTS the joint motion and AWARDS Plaintiff attorney’s 9 || fees and expenses in the total amount of $7,500.00 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412 and costs 10 |}in the amount of $615.00 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 1920, subject to the terms of the parties’ 11 motion [see ECF No. 18]. Fees will be made payable to Gary Dorn Smith, but if the 12 || Department of the Treasury determines that Gary Dorn Smith does not owe a federal debt, then 13 || the government will cause the payment of fees, expenses, and costs to be made directly to the 14 ||Chermol & Fishman, LLC, 11450 Bustleton Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116 pursuant to the 15 || assignment executed by Gary Dorn Smith [See ECF No. 18 at 2]. Any payments will be delivered 16 David F. Chermol. 17 IT IS SO ORDERED. 18 ||Dated: 3/7/2023 lobe Mager 19 Hon. Barbara L. Major United States Maqistrate Judde 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28