Walker v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 23

ORDER granting 21 Motion for Attorney Fees in the amount of $4,133.87, plus expenses. The fee shall be paid by the Social Security Administration. Signed by Judge Mark W Bennett on 02/17/2015. (src)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA
CENTRAL DIVISION
JILLONE MARIE WALKER,
No. C 13-3021-MWB
Plaintiff,
vs.
CAROLYN W. COLVIN,
Commissioner of Social Security,

ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFF’S
APPLICATION FOR ATTORNEY’S
FEES

Defendant.
___________________________
This case is before me on plaintiff Jillone Marie Walker’s (Walker) Motion For
Award Of Attorney’s Fees, which she filed on August 26, 2014 (docket no. 21).
Walker’s application follows my June 25, 2014, order in which I accepted Judge
Strand’s Report and Recommendation, reversed the Commissioner of Social Security’s
(the Commissioner’s) decision denying Walker disability benefits, and remanded
Walker’s claim to the Commissioner for further consideration (docket no. 19). The
Clerk entered judgment in Walker’s favor on June 25, 2014 (docket no. 20).
“[F]ees and other expenses” may be awarded to a “prevailing party” in a Social
Security appeal under the EAJA, “unless the court finds that the position of the United
States was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust.”
28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A) (emphasis added). For purposes of this subsection, “fees
and other expenses” include “reasonable attorney fees.” 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(A).
In order to obtain an award, the party must apply for the award “within thirty days of
final judgment in the action” and “allege that the position of the United States was not
substantially justified.” 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B). If attorney’s fees are appropriate,

the reasonable hourly rate for such fees is set by statute at $125, “unless the court
determines that an increase in the cost of living or a special factor, such as the limited
availability of qualified attorneys for the proceedings involved, justifies a higher fee.”
28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(A)(ii).
Here, according to the Commissioner’s Response To Plaintiff’s Application For
Attorney Fees Pursuant To The Equal Access to Justice Act (docket no. 22) the parties
agree to an award of EAJA fees and expenses in the amount of $4,133.87.

The

requested award under the EAJA is just and appropriate. Therefore, I grant Walker’s
application for attorney’s fees, plus expenses, in the amount of $4,133.87. The fee
award shall be paid by the Social Security Administration.

See 28 U.S.C. §

2412(d)(4). In Astrue v. Ratliff, the United States Supreme Court held that, under the
EAJA, statutory attorney’s fees awards must be payable to the prevailing social security
plaintiff, not her attorney. 560 U.S. 586, 130 S. Ct. 2521, 2529 (2010). However, if
consistent with the Commissioner’s and the Department of Treasury’s practice, the
EAJA payment may be mailed to Walker’s attorney, Blake Parker. See, e.g., Theis v.
Astrue, 828 F. Supp. 2d 1006, 1011 (E.D. Ark. 2011) (directing that EAJA “award be
made payable to the plaintiff . . . and mailed to [plaintiff’s attorney], pursuant to the
Commissioner’s standard method of issuing payment”).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED this 17th day of February, 2015.

______________________________________
MARK W. BENNETT
U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA

2