Moreno v. Colvin

Filing 29

ORDER granting 27 Motion for Attorney Fees. Plaintiff's counsel is awarded $16,470.00 in attorneys' fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b)(1). Plaintiff's counsel shall refund to Plaintiff the EAJA award of $3,526.03 within 14 days from the date of this Order. Signed by Chief Judge G Murray Snow on 3/2/21. (DXD)

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WO

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Beatriz Angelica Moreno,

No. CV-16-02682-PHX-GMS

Plaintiff,

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v.

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Commissioner
Administration,

ORDER

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of

Social

Security

Defendant.

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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff Beatriz Angelica Moreno’s (“Plaintiff”)

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Petition for Approval of Attorneys’ Fees. (Doc. 27.) For the following reasons, the Motion

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is granted.
BACKGROUND

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Plaintiff filed this action on August 8, 2016, seeking review of the denial of her

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application for benefits under the Title II of the Social Security Act. (Doc. 1.) Plaintiff

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filed her opening brief on December 12, 2016. (Doc. 16.) Subsequently, the parties

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stipulated to remand the matter to the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) for further

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administrative proceedings, (Doc. 20), and the Court remanded the matter pursuant to the

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stipulation, (Doc. 21.) Upon remand, the ALJ issued a favorable decision and awarded

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past-due benefits.

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On May 9, 2017, Plaintiff requested attorneys’ fees pursuant to the Equal Access to

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Justice Act (“EAJA”). (Doc. 23.) The Court awarded Plaintiff $3,526.03 in attorneys’ fees

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under the EAJA. (Doc. 25.) Plaintiff now moves for attorneys’ fees in the amount of

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$16,470.00 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b)(1). The Motion is unopposed. (Doc. 28.)

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DISCUSSION

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Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b)(1)(A), “[w]henever a court renders a judgment

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favorable to a claimant under this subchapter who was represented before the court by an

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attorney, the court may determine and allow as part of its judgment a reasonable fee for

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such representation, not in excess of 25 percent of the total of the past-due benefits to which

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the claimant is entitled by reason of such judgment[.]” Section 406(b) “does not displace

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contingent-fee agreements” but rather “calls for court review of such arrangements as an

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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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In determining whether a contingency fee request is reasonable, courts must

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“approach fee determinations by looking first to the contingent-fee agreement, then testing

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it for reasonableness.” Id. at 808. Courts may reduce the amount requested in the

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contingent-fee agreement “if the attorney provided substandard representation or delayed

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the case, or if the requested fee would result in a windfall.” Crawford v. Astrue, 586 F.3d

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1142, 1151 (9th Cir. 2009).

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Here, Plaintiff contracted to pay 25 percent of her past-due benefits on a contingency

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fee basis, in accordance with Section 406(b), (Doc. 27–3), and there is no evidence of

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substandard performance or delay by Plaintiff’s counsel. Additionally, in light of the risks

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involved in a contingent-fee case and counsel’s experience, Plaintiff’s requested amount is

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reasonable.

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In addition, as the Court awarded Plaintiff attorneys’ fees under the EAJA, the Court

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orders that Plaintiff’s counsel refund the EAJA award of $3,526.03 to Plaintiff. See

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Gisbrecht, 535 U.S. at 796 (explaining that Congress allows fee awards under both Section

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406(b) and the EAJA but “the claimant’s attorney must refund to the claimant the amount

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of the smaller fee”) (internal citations omitted).

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Accordingly,

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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff Beatriz Angelica Moreno’s

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Petition for Approval of Attorneys’ Fees (Doc. 27) is GRANTED. Plaintiff’s counsel is

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awarded $16,470.00 in attorneys’ fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b)(1).

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s counsel shall refund to Plaintiff the
EAJA award of $3,526.03 within fourteen (14) days from the date of this Order.
Dated this 2nd day of March, 2021.

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