Miller v. Colvin
Filing
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ORDER granting 19 Motion for Attorney Fees. Signed by District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr on 10/19/2016. (chh)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. 3:15-cv-00443-MOC
SAMUEL S. MILLER,
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Plaintiff,
v.
CAROLYN W. COLVIN,
Acting Commissioner of Social Security
Defendant.
ORDER
THIS MATTER is before the court on plaintiff’s Motion for Fees Under the Equal Access
to Justice Act (#19) and defendant’s response thereto (#21). Plaintiff filed a timely Motion for
Fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412, on October 7, 2016 in the amount
of $5,300. Defendant’s response did not oppose the granting of fees. The defendant’s response
noted that the fees should be directed to the litigant rather than the plaintiff’s attorney under Astrue
v. Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586 (2010). The court finds the proposed fee to be reasonable.
ORDER
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that the Motion for Fees Under the Equal
Access to Justice Act (#19) is GRANTED. The United States Social Security Administration
shall pay attorney’s fees in the amount of $5,300.00 in full satisfaction of any and all attorney’s
fee claims Plaintiff may have in this case under EAJA. 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
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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: October 19, 2016
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