Presley v. Astrue

Filing 29

ORDER. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's Application for Award of Attorney's Fees Under the Equal Access to Justice Act [doc. #26] is GRANTED. Plaintiff is awarded $3,288.09 in attorney's fees payable to counsel for Plaintiff. Signed by Honorable E. Richard Webber on 9/3/09. (RJD)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION DEE DEE PRESLEY, Plaintiff, vs. SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Case No. 4:08CV00974 ERW

ORDER This matter is before the Court upon Plaintiff's Application for Award of Attorney's Fees Under the Equal Access to Justice Act [doc. #26]. On June 5, 2009, this Court reversed the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security and remanded the above-styled action for further proceedings. Plaintiff seeks a total award of $3,288.09. Counsel for the Defendant has no objection to this request. The award of attorneys' fees in this case is governed by the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412 ("EAJA"). Under the EAJA, reasonable fees and expenses of attorneys may be awarded to the prevailing party. 28 U.S.C. § 2412(b). Further, "a court shall award to a prevailing party other than the United States fees and other expenses . . . unless the court finds that the position of the United States was substantially justified or that special circumstances made an award unjust." Id. at § 2412(d)(1)(A).

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The Court finds that the position of the United States was not substantially justified and that no special circumstances make an award unjust. Further, a review of Plaintiff's exhibits reveal that the requested attorneys' fees and costs are reasonable.1 Therefore, the Court will grant Plaintiff's motion, awarding $3,288.09 in attorney's fees. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's Application for Award of Attorney's Fees Under the Equal Access to Justice Act [doc. #26] is GRANTED. Plaintiff is awarded $3,288.09 in attorney's fees payable to counsel for Plaintiff. Dated this 3rd day of September, 2009.

E. RICHARD WEBBER UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Counsel for Plaintiff spent 19.5 hours on this case at a rate of $168.62 per hour. Counsel's hourly rate was calculated by multiplying the EAJA statutory rate of $125.00 by a consumer price index multiplier to account for an increase in the cost of living. 2

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