Shultz v. Berryhill

Filing 32

ORDER granting 30 motion for attorney fees Signed on 04/22/2020 by Magistrate Judge David P. Rush. (Moss, Christa)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
WESTERN DIVISION
MITCHELL D. SHULTZ,
Plaintiff,
v.
ANDREW SAUL, 1
Defendant.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

No. 17-00428-CV-W-DPR-SSA

ORDER
Before the Court is the Motion for Section 406(b) Attorney Fees. (Doc. 30.) Plaintiff’s
attorney, Cathleen A. Shine, requests an award in the amount of $12,469.75 as an attorney fee for
her representation of Plaintiff in this action. 2 In its Response (doc. 31), Defendant “has no specific
objection” to Plaintiff’s motion and only asks this court award a reasonable fee. Upon review, the
Court finds that the fee requested is consistent with the Fee Contract (doc. 30-3) which is equal to
the statutory maximum of 25% of past-due benefits. The Court also finds that the fee requested is
reasonable.
Therefore, the Motion for Section 406(b) Attorney Fees is GRANTED. Pursuant to 42
U.S.C. § 406(b), Cathleen A. Shine is awarded a fee for her services in the amount of $12,469.75,
to be paid by Defendant. Furthermore, Ms. Shine shall refund to Mitchell Shultz the amount of
$6,500.00, which was previously paid as an attorney fee under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
/s/ David P. Rush
DAVID P. RUSH
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
DATE: April 22, 2020

1

Andrew M. Saul became the Commissioner of Social Security in June 2019. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d)(1),
Andrew M. Saul is substituted for Nancy A. Berryhill as the defendant in this suit. By reason of the last sentence of
42 U.S.C. § 405(g), no further action need be taken.
2
This amount represents 34.35 hours of attorney time related to the court action and averages an hourly rate of
$363.02.

Case 4:17-cv-00428-DPR Document 32 Filed 04/22/20 Page 1 of 1