Bradley v. Colvin

Filing 20

ORDER granting 18 Motion for Fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. Signed by District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr on 2/9/2017. (kby)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
ASHEVILLE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. 1:16-cv-00028-MOC
BILLY S. BRADLEY,

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Plaintiff,
v.
NANCY A. BERRYHILL,
Acting Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant.

ORDER

THIS MATTER is before the court on the consent Motion for Fees under the Equal Access
to Justice Act (#18). The court enters the following Order, pursuant to its authority to award fees
to a prevailing party, other than the United States, incurred by that party in a civil action against
the United States under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A), and
in light of this court’s Order (#15) and the Clerk’s Judgment (#16) remanding this case to the
defendant for further proceedings.

ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Consent Motion for Fees under the Equal Access to
Justice Act (#18) is GRANTED, the United States Social Security Administration shall pay a total
of $5,018.12, including a consented attorney’s fee of $5,018.12, in full satisfaction of any and all
attorney’s fee claims plaintiff may have in this case under EAJA. (Plaintiff has a Bill of Cost still
pending before the Clerk). Pursuant to the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Astrue v.
Ratliff, 130 S. Ct. 2521 (2010), the attorney’s fees ordered herein are payable to plaintiff as the
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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: February 9, 2017

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