ARDLEY v. ASTRUE

Filing 35

ORDER re 32 Motion for Attorney Fees is GRANTED. Plaintiff's attorney awarded fees in the amount of $20,213.78. Defendant ordered to pay fee from plaintiff's past-due benefits being held by defendant. Signed by CHIEF JUDGE M CASEY RODGERS on 10/31/2011. (jws)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
GAINESVILLE DIVISION
SYLVIA ARDLEY,
Plaintiff,
v.

CASE NO. 1:09cv185/MP/GRJ

MICHAEL J. ASTRUE,
Defendant.
/
ORDER
This matter is before the court on plaintiff’s Motion for Attorney Fees Pursuant to 42
U.S.C. § 406(b)(1). (Doc. 32). The Commissioner has filed a response (doc. 34) indicating
that he does not contest payment of attorney fees in this case in the total amount of
$20,213.78.

Although the amount is uncontested, the court must still make an

independent determination of the reasonableness of any fee awarded pursuant to §
406(b). See Gisbrecht v. Barnhart, 535 U.S. 789, 807-08, 122 S. Ct. 1817, 1828 (2002)
(holding that courts may award a reasonable fee not to exceed twenty-five percent of
past-due benefits and should consider the character of the representation and the results
the representation achieved in determining the reasonableness of a contingency fee
agreement).
The court finds upon consideration of the factors cited with approval in Gisbrecht
that the requested fee award is reasonable. The representation of plaintiff in this case was
not substandard, and the attorney for plaintiff, does not appear to have been responsible
for any delays in this matter. Moreover, counsel represented plaintiff on a contingency fee
basis for an extended period of time, obtaining past-due benefits in the amount of
$84,887.52. Plaintiff's counsel states that he expended a total of 6.90 hours in 2009

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through 2011 representing plaintiff before this court. The twenty-five percent contingency
fee agreement yields $22,221.88, which equals an hourly rate of $3,220.56 an hour. While
the hourly rate almost certainly exceeds market rates, by working on a contingency fee
basis counsel accepted the risk of not being compensated for his efforts. As such, the
requested fee is not a windfall. Furthermore, the plaintiff has made no objection to his
attorney's fee request.
The Commissioner withheld $22,221.88 of plaintiff's past-due benefits for attorney
fees. Pursuant to the fee agreements in this case, plaintiff's counsel seeks this amount
minus $1,008.10, which has already been received by counsel pursuant to the Equal
Access to Justice Act . Thus, plaintiff's counsel seeks $20,213.78, and not the full amount
of past-due benefits withheld. Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED:
The motion for attorneys' fees (doc. 32) is GRANTED. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §
406(b), plaintiff's attorney is awarded fees in the amount of $20,213.78. Defendant is
ordered to pay the fee from plaintiff's past-due benefits being held by defendant.
DONE AND ORDERED this 31st day of October, 2011.

s/

M. Casey Rodgers

M. CASEY RODGERS
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Case No: 1:09cv185/MP/GRJ