Ellington v. Berryhill

Filing 19

ORDER granting in part 18 Motion for Attorney Fees. Plaintiff is awarded $8,526.58 for attorney fees. The Court denies Plaintiff's request that the fees be made payable to Plaintiff's counsel. Signed by Chief Judge J. Randal Hall on 07/26/2018. (thb)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
STATESBORO DIVISION

*

SUSAN ELLINGTON,

*
*

Plaintiff,

*

CV 617-072

V.

NANCY A. BERRYHILL,

*

Acting Commissioner of Social
Security,

*
*
*

Defendant.

*
*
•k

ORDER

Before

attorney

the

fees

(''EAJA"),

28

Court

pursuant
U.S.C.

§

is

Plaintiff's

to

the

Equal

2412(d).

Plaintiff's

EAJA fees

counsel

and,

be

in

Access

(Doc.

attorney's fees worth $8,526.58.
requests that the

unopposed

to

18.)

support,

and

for

Justice

Act

Plaintiff

(Id. at 2.)
assigned

motion

seeks

Plaintiff also
paid directly to

attaches

a

retainer

agreement containing a clause that assigns Plaintiff's rights to
(Id♦

any EAJA award to Plaintiff's counsel.

at

3. )

Defendant

does not object to the hours or fees requested in this petition.
(Id.

at

1. )

The

Court

attorney

fees.

first

addresses

'^^Under

the

whether

EAJA,

a

Plaintiff

party

that

is

entitled

prevails

to

against

the

United States in court may be awarded fees . . . if the

government's position in the litigation was not

justified.'"
1271

(11th

Jackson v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec.y

Cir.

2010)

(citing

28

^substantially

601 F.3d 1268,

U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A)).

A

"prevailing party" includes plaintiffs who win remand pursuant
to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).

509

U.S.

292,

300-01

(1993).

A

Shalala

prevailing

v. Schaefer,

party may file a

motion for attorney's fees under the EAJA up to 90 days after

entry of judgment.

Newsome v. Shalala, 8 F.3d 775, 779 (11th

Cir. 1993) (finding that "an EAJA application may be filed until

30 days . . . after the time for appeal has ended" and that "in
a civil case to which a federal officer is a party, the time for

appeal

does

not

end

until 60

days

after

entry

of

judgment"

(internal quotations and citations omitted)).

First, the Court finds that Plaintiff is a prevailing party

and that her request is timely.
filed

a

complaint

Defendant's

the

in

denial of

this
her

Judge filed

a

Court

requesting

claim for

Social Security Act.

Magistrate

On May 17, 2017, Plaintiff

(Doc.

disability

1.)

Report and

review

On

March

of

benefits

the
under

1, 2018, the

Recommendation

("R

&

R")

recommending that the Court reverse and remand the Defendant's
decision pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).

(Doc.

15.)

On March 19, 2018, this Court adopted the R & R and the

Clerk

entered

judgment

remanding the decision.

in

favor

of

Plaintiff,

(Docs. 16, 17.)

reversing

and

On May 14, 2018, fewer

than

90

days

after

entry

of

judgment,

instant motion for attorney fees.

Second,

the

substantially

explicitly

Court

justify

states

finds

its

that

filed

the

(Doc. 18.)

that

the

position.

the

Plaintiff

government

While

government's

the

failed

R

&

position

R

to

never

was

not

substantially justified, the Magistrate Judge characterized the
Defendant's

decision

''surprising."

as

unsupported,

unexplained, '"hazy," and

(Id. at 6, 7, 10, 13.)

Since the decision was

"inconsistent" and failed to explain what reasoning or evidence

supported denying benefits to Plaintiff, the Court finds that
the government's position was not substantially justified.

(Id.

at 13-19).

Because

timely

Plaintiff

filed,

and

is

a

the

prevailing

party,

government's

the

motion

was

was

not

position

substantially justified. Plaintiff is entitled to attorney fees
under EAJA.

Having found that Plaintiff is entitled to attorney fees,
the Court now determines whether the attorney's fees can be paid

directly to Plaintiff's counsel.

The text of 28 U.S.C. § 2412

is unambiguous: "[A]ttorney's fees are awarded to the prevailing
party,
Astrue,

not

to

526

petitions

the

F.3d

for

prevailing

732,

EAJA

738

awards

party's

(11th

Cir.

accompanied

attorney."
2008).

by

Reeves

"[FJaced

requests

to

v.

with

honor

assignments to litigants' attorneys," this Court has previously
found that the proper course is to "award the EAJA fees directly

to

[the

litigant]

as the

prevailing

party

and

remain

silent

regarding the direction of payment of those fees." Clover v.
Colvin, CV 314-154, 2016 WL 4522661, at *2 {S.D. Ga. Aug. 29,

2016) (quoting Bostic v. Comm^ r of Soc. Sec., 858 F. Supp, 2d
1301, 1306 (M.D. Fla. 2011)).

Accordingly, the Court GRANTS IN PART Plaintiff s motion
(doc. 18) and awards Plaintiff $8,526.58 for attorney fees. The
Court DENIES Plaintiffs request that the fees be made payable
to Plaintiffs counsel.

ORDER ENTERED at Augusta, Georgia, this
2018.

J. RARDA^^ALL, CHIEF JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

OUTHEEW

DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

July,