Poston v Commissioner Social Security Administration

Filing 26

ORDER: Granting Motion for Attorney Fees 24 . Please access entire text by document number hyperlink. Signed on 04/23/2019 by Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke. (rsm)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON
MEDFORD DIVISION

PARIS RENE POSTON,

Civ. No. 6:15-cv-02389-CL

Plaintiff,
ORDER
V.

COMMISSIONER, SOCIAL SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION,
Defendant.

CLARKE, Magistrate Judge.
This case comes before the Court on an unopposed motion for attorney fees (#24) under
,,
42 U.S.C. § 406(b). Plaintiff is due a retroactive award of benefits in the amount of$210,257.00.
A fee awarded pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) cannot exceed 25% of the retroactive benefits.

Crawford v. Astrue, 586 F.3d 1142, 1147 (9th Cir. 2009). Plaintiffs counsel seeks an aggregate
total attorney fee of $30,000, which is less that the statutorily permitted 25% of Plaintiffs
retroactive benefits ($52,564.25), and accounts for a reduction of $5,007.28 in Equal Access to
Justice (EAJA) fees already awarded, $6,000 in fees paid already pursuant to the fee agreement,
and a voluntary reduction of $11,556.97. Having reviewed the proceedings and the amount of

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fees sought, the Court concludes that Plaintiff's counsel is entitled to th~ $30,000 fee~ requested.
Plaintiffs Motion (#24) is GRANTED. The agency is directed to issue the§ 406(b) check
directly to Plaintiffs counsel in the amount of $30,000, minus any user fee. Any amount
withheld after all administrative and attorney fees are paid should be released directly to
Plaintiff.

United States Magistrate Judge

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