Kirkpatrick v. Colvin

Filing 25

ORDER ADOPTING MEMORANDUM AND RECOMMENDATIONS re: 24 Memorandum and Recommendations,, granting 23 MOTION for Attorney Fees (Signed by Judge George C Hanks, Jr) Parties notified.(agould, 3)

United States District Court
Southern District of Texas

ENTERED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
GALVESTON DIVISION
MARK PAUL KIRKPATRICK
Plaintiff.
VS.
ANDREW SAUL,1
COMMISSIONER OF THE SOCIAL
SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Defendant.

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July 08, 2019
David J. Bradley, Clerk

CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:16–CV–00337

ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S
MEMORANDUM AND RECOMMENDATION
On February 22, 2018, this case was referred to United States Magistrate Judge
Andrew M. Edison. See Dkt. 16. On June 20, 2019, Judge Edison filed a Memorandum
and Recommendation (Dkt. 24) recommending that Plaintiff Mark Paul Kirkpatrick’s
Petition to Obtain Approval of a Fee for Representing a Social Security Claimant (Dkt.
23) be GRANTED.
No objections have been filed to the Memorandum and Recommendation.
Accordingly, the Court reviews the Memorandum and Recommendation for plain error
on the face of the record. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); see also, FED. R. CIV. P. 72(b)(3).

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On June 17, 2019, Andrew Saul became the Commissioner of Social Security
(“Commissioner”) and is automatically substituted as a party pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 25(d).

Based on the pleadings, the record and the applicable law, the Court finds that
there is no plain error apparent from the face of the record. Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that:
(1)

Judge Edison’s Memorandum and Recommendation (Dkt. 24) is
APPROVED AND ADOPTED in its entirety as the holding of the Court;

(2)

Plaintiff Mark Paul Kirkpatrick’s Petition to Obtain Approval of a Fee for
Representing a Social Security Claimant (Dkt. 23) is GRANTED; and

(3)

Kirkpatrick’s counsel is awarded $15,609.37 in attorney’s fees out of
Kirkpatrick’s past-due benefits pursuant to Section 406(b). Kirkpatrick’s
counsel is ordered to refund the Equal Access to Justice Act award in the
amount of $3,345.54 directly to Kirkpatrick.

It is so ORDERED.
SIGNED at Galveston, Texas, this 8th day of July, 2019.
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George C. Hanks Jr.
United States District Judge

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