Toney v. Colvin

Filing 20

ORDER granting with modification 16 Motion for Attorney Fees. Signed by District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr on 9/26/2017. (chh)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. 3:16-cv-832
BRENDA TONEY,
Plaintiff,
Vs.
NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting Commissioner
of Social Security,
Defendant.

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ORDER

THIS MATTER is before the Court on plaintiff’s Motion for Fees under the
Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412. 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). Having reviewed
the pleadings, the Court finds that plaintiff’s requested hourly rate of $196.50 is
reasonable, but defendant correctly states the proper amount of time, 19.6 hours, to
be billed. Based on these findings, the Court enters the following Order.
ORDER
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that plaintiff’s Motion for Fees under the
Equal Access to Justice Act (#16) is GRANTED WITH MODIFICATION, and

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the Social Security Administration shall pay attorney’s fees in the amount of
$3,851.40, in full satisfaction of any and all attorney’s fee claims plaintiff may have
in this case under the 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 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: September 26, 2017

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