Bailey v. Colvin

Filing 32

ORDER -.....IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for attorney's fees is GRANTED. [Doc. 29] IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff is awarded attorney's fees in the amount of Five Thousand Two Hundred Ninety-Nine Dollars and Sixty-Six Cents ($5,299.66). The award shall be made payable to Rhonda Marie Bailey. See Astrue v. Ratliff, 130 S. Ct. 2521, 2529 (2010).. Signed by District Judge Charles A. Shaw on 5/19/2016. (MRC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION

RHONDA MARIE BAILEY,
Plaintiff,
v.
CAROLYN W. COLVIN,
Acting Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant.

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No. 4:13-CV-1846 CAS

ORDER
This matter is before the Court on plaintiff’s application for an award of attorney’s fees
pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B).

The

Commissioner does not object to the request for attorney’s fees.
Background
On September 19, 2013, plaintiff Rhonda Marie Bailey filed the above-captioned cause of
action challenging the denial of her application for disability insurance benefits and supplemental
security income benefits under Title II and Title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1381
et seq. On September 29, 2015, the Court reversed the decision of the administrative law judge
(“ALJ”) and remanded the action for further proceedings pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C.
§ 405(g). Following the order of remand, plaintiff’s counsel filed the present application for
attorney’s fees.
Plaintiff seeks attorney’s fees for 28.1 hours of work done by attorney Traci L. Severs at the
rate of $188.60 per hour. The total amount of fees sought by plaintiff is Five Thousand Two

Hundred Ninety-Nine Dollars and Sixty-Six Cents ($5,299.66). Defendant responded to plaintiff’s
motion and did not oppose plaintiff’s request.
Discussion
The Court finds the award of fees is proper in this case. Section 2412 of the Equal Access
to Justice Act (EAJA) provides that a court:
shall award to a prevailing party . . . fees . . . incurred by that party in any civil action
(other than cases sounding in tort), including proceedings for judicial review of
agency action, brought by or against the United States in any court having
jurisdiction of that action, 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). Accordingly, plaintiff’s attorney is entitled to fees if (i) plaintiff was
the prevailing party, (ii) the fees were “incurred by that party in [the] civil action” in which the party
prevailed, and (iii) the defendant’s position was not substantially justified. Id. Plaintiff has met all
of these requirements in the instant matter. Shalala v. Schaefer, 509 U.S. 292, 302 (1993) (“a party
who wins a sentence-four remand order is a prevailing party.”) The Court, therefore, will award
plaintiff her attorney’s fees in the amount of Five Thousand Two Hundred Ninety-Nine Dollars and
Sixty-Six Cents.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for attorney’s fees is GRANTED.
[Doc. 29]

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff is awarded attorney’s fees in the amount of
Five Thousand Two Hundred Ninety-Nine Dollars and Sixty-Six Cents ($5,299.66). The award
shall be made payable to Rhonda Marie Bailey. See Astrue v. Ratliff, 130 S. Ct. 2521, 2529 (2010).

CHARLES A. SHAW
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Dated this 19th day of May, 2016.

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