Watkins v. Colvin

Filing 29

ORDER granting 27 Motion for award of attorney's fees. Counsel's fees are approved in the amount of $11,688.50. Signed by Judge Douglas L Rayes on 8/21/2017. (MMO)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Patrick Fitzgerald Watkins,
Plaintiff,

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ORDER

v.

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No. CV-16-00168-PHX-DLR

Commissioner of Social Security
Administration,

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff Patrick Watkins applied for supplemental security income in November

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2011. (AR 22, 166-74.) The applications were denied. (AR 1-3, 15-35.) Plaintiff

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thereafter sought judicial review, and on March 31, 2017 the Court reversed Defendant’s

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decision and remanded the case for an award of benefits. (Docs. 1, 23.)

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Counsel for Plaintiff has filed a motion for award of attorney’s fees in the amount

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of $11,688.50. (Doc. 27.) Defendant has no objection to the motion. (Doc. 28.) For

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reasons stated below, the motion is granted.

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Counsel seeks a fee award pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), which “provides that

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whenever the Court renders a favorable judgment to a social security claimant, the Court

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can award reasonable attorneys’ fees for representation of the claimant.” Flaherty v.

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Colvin, No. CV-09-08106-PHX-JAT, 2013 WL 5447684, at *1 (D. Ariz. Sept. 30, 2013).

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Section 406(b) does not displace contingent-fee agreements as the primary means by

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which fees are set for successfully representing social security claimants in court, but it

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does limit the reasonable fee to 25% of the past-due benefits. § 406(b)(1)(A); see 20

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C.F.R. § 404.1730(b)(1)(i). Section 406(b) “calls for court review of such arrangements

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as an independent check, to assure that they yield reasonable results in particular cases.”

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Gisbrecht v. Barnhart, 535 U.S. 789, 807 (2002).

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reasonable, the Court should consider “the character of the representation and the results

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the representative achieved.” Id. at 808.

In determining whether a fee is

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Here, the results achieved by counsel were favorable and his representation was

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more than adequate. Having considered the factors outlined in Gisbrecht, and the record

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as a whole, the Court finds that $11,688.50 is a fair and reasonable fee award. The

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unopposed motion for award of attorney’s fees therefore is granted.

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IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s attorney’s motion for award of attorney’s fees

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under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) (Doc. 27) is GRANTED. Counsel’s fees are approved in the

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amount of $11,688.50.

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Dated this 21st day of August, 2017.

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Douglas L. Rayes
United States District Judge

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