Collins v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 33

ORDER granting 31 Motion for Attorney Fees. Avard is awarded § 406(b) fees of $27,762.25. The clerk is directed to enter judgment in this amount accordingly. Avard is further directed to return the previous EAJA award to Plaintiff within fourteen days of this order. Signed by Magistrate Judge Kyle C. Dudek on 3/11/2025. (CGW)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
RENEE COLLINS,
Plaintiff,
Case No. 2:23-CV-276-KCD

v.
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL
SECURITY,
Defendant,
/

ORDER
Having obtained an award of benefits, Plaintiff’s attorney, Carol Avard,
seeks attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). (Doc. 31.) The Commissioner
of Social Security neither supports nor opposes counsel’s fee request because
it has no direct financial stake in the outcome. (Doc. 32.)
Section 406(b) provides that an attorney who obtains a benefits award
on remand may petition for a reasonable fee—not to exceed twenty-five
percent of the claimant’s past-due benefits—for work performed before the
court.
Avard requests $27,762.25, which is 25 percent of the past-due benefits
awarded. (Doc. 31 at 1-2.) Avard further asserts that the previous EAJA
award of $9,328.62 will be returned to Plaintiff. (Id. at 2); see Paltan v.
Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 519 F. App’x 673, 674 (11th Cir. 2013) (noting that the
attorney has the option of either refunding a prior EAJA award to the

plaintiff directly or reducing the § 406(b) award by the same amount). For the
reasons stated in Avard’s motion, the requested fee is both reasonable and
appropriate under § 406(b).
Accordingly, the fee motion (Doc. 31) is GRANTED, and Avard is
awarded § 406(b) fees of $27,762.25. The clerk is directed to enter judgment
in this amount accordingly. Avard is further directed to return the previous
EAJA award to Plaintiff within fourteen days of this order.
ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on March 11, 2025.

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