(SS) Marker v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 18

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Dennis M. Cota on 11/25/24 GRANTING 17 Motion for Attorney Fees and AWARDING $6,400.00 in fees and no costs. (Licea Chavez, V)

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1 Francesco Benavides, CSBN 258924 Law Offices of Francesco Benavides 2 1990 N. California Blvd. 8th Floor Walnut Creek, CA 94596 3 Tel: (925) 222-7071 4 Email: francesco@benavidesdisabilitylaw.com 5 Attorney for Plaintiff 6 ROBERT PATRICK MARKER 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 SACRAMENTO DIVISION 11 12 ROBERT PATRICK MARKER, 13 Plaintiff, 14 v. 15 Case No. 2:24-cv-01510-DMC STIPULATION FOR THE AWARD AND PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES AND EXPENSES PURSUANT TO THE EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT; ORDER MARTIN J. O’MALLEY, 16 Commissioner of Social Security, 17 Defendant. 18 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties through their 19 undersigned counsel, subject to the approval of the Court, that Plaintiff be awarded 20 attorney fees and expenses in the amount of $6,400.00, under the Equal Access to 21 Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), and no costs under 28 U.S.C. § 1920. This 22 23 amount represents compensation for all legal services rendered on behalf of Plaintiff by 24 counsel in connection with this civil action, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §§ 2412(d), 25 1920. 26 After the Court issues an order for EAJA fees to Plaintiff, the government will 27 consider the matter of Plaintiff’s assignment of EAJA fees to counsel. Pursuant to 28 Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586, 598, 130 S.Ct. 2521, 177 L.Ed.2d 91 (2010), the ability 1 to honor the assignment will depend on whether the fees are subject to any offset 2 allowed under the United States Department of the Treasury’s Offset Program. After 3 the order for EAJA fees is entered, the government will determine whether they are 4 subject to any offset. 5 Fees shall be made payable to Plaintiff, but if the Department of the Treasury 6 determines that Plaintiff does not owe a federal debt, then the government shall cause 7 the payment of fees, expenses and costs to be made directly to Plaintiff’s counsel, 8 Francesco Benavides, pursuant to the assignment executed by Plaintiff. Payments 9 may be made by electronic fund transfer (EFT) or by check. 10 This stipulation constitutes a compromise settlement of Plaintiff’s request for 11 EAJA attorney fees and does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of 12 Defendant under the EAJA or otherwise. Payment of the agreed amount shall 13 constitute a complete release from, and bar to, any and all claims that Plaintiff and/or 14 Francesco Benavides, including the Law Offices of Francesco Benavides, may have 15 relating to EAJA attorney fees in connection with this action. 16 This award is without prejudice to the rights of Francesco Benavides to seek 17 Social Security Act attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), subject to the savings 18 clause provisions of the EAJA. 19 20 Respectfully submitted, 21 22 23 24 25 Dated: November 22, 2024 Law Offices of Francesco Benavides By: /s/ Francesco Benavides FRANCESCO P. BENAVIDES Attorney for Plaintiff 26 27 28 -2- 1 2 Dated: November 22, 2024 PHILLIP A. TALBERT United States Attorney MATHEW W. PILE Associate General Counsel Social Security Administration 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 By: Margaret Branick-Abilla* MARGARET BRANICK-ABILLA Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Attorneys for Defendant (*Permission to use electronic signature obtained via email on November 22, 2024). 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -3- ORDER 1 2 3 4 Based upon the parties’ Stipulation for the Award and Payment of Equal Access to Justice Act Fees and Expenses, IT IS ORDERED that fees and expenses in the 5 amount of $6,400.00 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412, and no costs under 28 U.S.C. 6 § 1920, be awarded subject to the terms of the Stipulation. 7 8 9 10 11 Dated: November 25, 2024 ____________________________________ DENNIS M. COTA UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -4-

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