Caulkins v. Colvin

Filing 23

ORDER granting 20 Motion for Attorney Fees under EAJA. Signed by District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. on 4/4/16. (ejb)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
ASHEVILLE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. 1:15-cv-00055-MOC
VANCE CAULKINS,

)
)
Plaintiff,
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Vs.
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CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Acting Commissioner of )
Social Security,
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Defendant.
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ORDER AWARDING EAJA FEES

THIS MATTER is before the court on plaintiff’s Motion for Attorney Fees
Under the Equal Access to Justice act. Review of the motion and the attachments to
the motion reveals that counsel for plaintiff seeks an attorney’s fee in the amount of
$4,436.95 as plaintiff was the prevailing party and defendant was not substantially
justified in its defense of this action. Defendant does not oppose the request, but
askes that the part of the fee attributable to costs be apportioned as it comes from the
Judgment Fund. Having considered plaintiff’s motion and reviewed the pleadings,
and finding the fee to be both reasonable and necessary, the court enters the
following Order.

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ORDER
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that plaintiff’s Motion for Attorney Fees
Under EAJA (#22) is GRANTED, and the Commissioner of Social Security shall
pay to plaintiff, the sum of $4,116.25 under EAJA, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), as
attorney’s fees, and $420.07 in costs, payable by the government from the Judgment
Fund.
Pursuant to the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Astrue v. Ratliff, 130
S. Ct. 2521 (2010), these attorney’s fees are payable to Plaintiff as the prevailing
party, and are subject to offset through the Treasury Department’s Offset Program
to satisfy any pre-existing debt Plaintiff may owe to the government. If, subsequent
to the entry of the Court’s EAJA Order, the Commissioner determines that Plaintiff
owes no debt to the government that would subject this award of attorney fees to
offset, the Commissioner may honor Plaintiff’s signed assignment of EAJA fees
providing for payment of the subject fees to Plaintiff’s counsel, rather than to
Plaintiff.
If, however, the Commissioner discovers that Plaintiff owes the government
any debt subject to offset, the Commissioner shall pay any attorney fees remaining
after such offset to Plaintiff, rather than to counsel.

Signed: April 4, 2016

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