Thompson v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 26

ORDER granting 25 Motion for Attorney Fees. Signed by Magistrate Judge Thomas B. Smith on 3/29/2017. (Smith, Thomas)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO DIVISION
CARRIE E. THOMPSON,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No: 6:15-cv-1891-Orl-TBS

COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL
SECURITY,
Defendant.
ORDER
Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s Unopposed Motion for Award of Attorney’s
Fees pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. §2412(d) (Doc. 25).
Plaintiff requests an award of fees in the amount of $5,076.80. 1 The motion includes a
schedule of the attorney’s billable hours to support the application (Doc. 25-1). Defendant
has no objection to the requested relief (Doc. 25 at 3-4).
Plaintiff asserts that she is the prevailing party, that the Commissioner’s position in
the underlying action was not substantially justified, and that her net worth at the time the
proceeding was filed was less than two million dollars2 (Doc. 25-4).
On December 29, 2016, the Court entered a final order reversing and remanding
this cause back to Defendant for further proceedings pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g)

Plaintiff’s fee amount is calculated at the rate of $190.00 per hour for 26.72 hours of work
performed in 2016 and 2017 (Docs. 25-1 and 25-3).
1

2 Under the EAJA, a claimant is eligible for an attorney fee award where: (1) the claimant is a
prevailing party in a non-tort suit involving the United States; (2) the Government’s position was not
substantially justified; (3) the claimant filed a timely application for attorney’s fees; (4) the claimant had a
net worth of less than $2 million at the time the complaint was filed; and (5) there are no special
circumstances which would make the award of fees unjust. 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d).

(Doc. 23). The Clerk entered judgment the next day (Doc. 24). Plaintiff filed this
application for attorney’s fees on March 28, 2017.
Plaintiff has attached a copy of her assignment of EAJA fees to her counsel (Doc.
25-4). In light of the assignment, Plaintiff requests (and Defendant agrees) that if the U.S.
Department of the Treasury determines that Plaintiff does not owe a federal debt, the
government will accept Plaintiff’s assignment of EAJA fees and pay fees directly to
Plaintiff’s counsel. Pursuant to the provisions of the EAJA, Plaintiff’s motion for attorney’s
fees (Doc. 25) is GRANTED. Plaintiff is awarded attorney’s fees in the amount of
$5,076.80.
DONE and ORDERED in Orlando, Florida on March 29, 2017.

Copies furnished to Counsel of Record

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