Behrens v. Kijakazi
- 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 voluntary remand of the plaintiff's Social Security disability claim. The court granted the motion and awarded the plaintiff $1,345.41 in attorney's fees.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Grant of Joint Motion for the Award of Attorney Fees Pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act“the Court GRANTS the joint motion and AWARDS Plaintiff attorney’s fees in the total amount of $1345.41 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412 and costs in the amount of $0 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 1920” | agree with court The court correctly identified the plaintiff as a prevailing party under the EAJA following a sentence four remand, cited the appropriate timeliness requirements, and found the stipulated fees reasonable. The decision follows the standard legal framework for EAJA fee awards in Social Security cases. |
The order itself: sound — The order is concise but legally sufficient. It correctly applies the Ninth Circuit precedent from Akopyan v. Barnhart to determine that the plaintiff is a prevailing party and that the motion is timely. It explicitly states that the stipulated fees are reasonable, which is the required judicial finding for an EAJA award. No significant arguments or authorities were omitted that would change the outcome.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 Case No.: 23CV2254-BLM 11 JODIE R BEHRENS, 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 KILOLO KIJAKAZI, ACTING COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 15 [ECF No. 13] Defendant. 16 17 18 On December 9, 2023, Plaintiff filed a complaint in this matter seeking judicial review of 19 the denial of her application “for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and Supplemental 20 Security Income benefits for lack of disability.” ECF No. 1. 21 On February 9, 2024, the parties filed a Joint Motion for Voluntary Remand. ECF No. 10. 22 On February 12, 2024, the Court granted the parties’ Joint Motion for Voluntary Remand. ECF 23 No. 11. 24 On March 27, 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. 13. 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 judgment, for purposes of attorneys’ fees claims brought pursuant to the EAJA, 28 U.S.C. § 1 || 2412(d), upon expiration of the time for appeal.” Akopyan v. Barnhart, 296 F.3d 852, 854 (9th 2 ||Cir. 2002). If one of the parties is the United States, either party may file a notice of appeal 3 || within sixty days of the order appealed from. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B). “A plaintiff who 4 || obtains a sentence four remand is considered a prevailing party for attorneys’ fees.” Akopyan, 5 F.3d at 854. Plaintiff is the prevailing party in this action for purposes of attorney’s fees, 6 || the parties’ joint motion is timely, and the Court finds the stipulated amount of fees and expenses 7 || reasonable. 8 Having considered the joint motion and finding the stipulated amount of fees and 9 ||expenses reasonable, the Court GRANTS the joint motion and AWARDS Plaintiff attorney’s 10 || fees in the total amount of $1345.41 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412 and costs in the amount 11 || of $0 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 1920, subject to the terms of the parties’ joint motion [see 12 ||ECF No. 13]. Fees will be made payable to Jodie R. Behrens, but if the Department of the 13 || Treasury determines that Jodie R. Behrens does not owe a federal debt, then the government 14 || will cause the payment of fees, expenses, and costs to be made directly to John Metsker DBA 15 Metsker Law Firm, PO Box 590881, San Francisco, CA 94159. Any payments will be 16 || delivered to John Metsker. 17 IT IS SO ORDERED. 18 ||Dated: 3/29/2024 lobe Mager 19 Hon. Barbara L. Major United States Maqistrate Judde 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28