Sloan v. Colvin

Filing 21

ORDER granting 17 Motion for Attorney Fees - by Judge J Richard Creatura. Nancy A. Berryhill (Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration) added. Carolyn W. Colvin (Acting Commissioner) terminated. (SH)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

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CARLOS DEMETRIUS SLOAN,

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Plaintiff,
v.

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NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting
Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration, 1

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CASE NO. 2:16-cv-01327 JRC
ORDER ON UNOPPOSED MOTION
FOR EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE
ACT FEES, EXPENSES AND COSTS

Defendant.

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This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), Fed. R. Civ. P. 73 and Local
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Magistrate Judge Rule MJR 13 (see also Notice of Initial Assignment to a U.S. Magistrate Judge
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and Consent Form, Dkt. 5; Consent to Proceed Before a United States Magistrate Judge, Dkt. 6).
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This matter is before the Court on plaintiff’s Motion for EAJA Fees, Costs and Expenses (see
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Dkt. 17). Defendant has no objection to plaintiff’s motion (see Dkt. 20).
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Nancy A. Berryhill is now the Acting Commissioner of Social Security. Pursuant to
Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Nancy A. Berryhill is substituted for Acting
23 Commissioner Carolyn W. Colvin as the defendant in this suit. No further action needs to be
taken, pursuant to the last sentence of section 205(g) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §
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ORDER ON UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR EQUAL
ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT FEES, EXPENSES
AND COSTS - 1

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Based on the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412, (“EAJA”), plaintiff’s motion

2 (see Dkt. 17), the attorney declaration and time and expense itemizations (Dkt. 20, Attachments
3 2, 3, 4, 5), and the relevant record, it is hereby ORDERED that EAJA attorney’s fees of
4 $5,829.20 (which is for work performed by Jeffrey Baird in the amount of $4,673.12, plus work
5 performed by Elie Halpern in the amount of $1,156.08) and expenses in the amount of $5.30
6 (postage), shall be awarded to plaintiff pursuant to the EAJA and consistent with Astrue v.
7 Ratliff, 130 S.Ct. 2521, 2524, 2010 U.S. LEXIS 4763 at ***6-***7 (2010).
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It is further ORDERED that costs in the amount of $25.20 (photocopies) shall be

9 awarded to plaintiff pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1920.
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The Acting Commissioner agrees to contact the Department of Treasury after the Order

11 for EAJA fees, expenses and costs is entered to determine if the EAJA fees, expenses and costs
12 are subject to any offset. If it is determined that plaintiff’s EAJA fees, expenses and costs are not
13 subject to any offset allowed pursuant to the Department of the Treasury’s Offset Program, then
14 the check for EAJA fees, expenses and costs shall be made payable to Elie Halpern, Esq., based
15 on plaintiff’s assignment of these amounts to plaintiff’s attorney (see Federal Court Retainer
16 Agreement, Dkt. 17, Attachment 6, p. 1). If there is an offset, the remainder shall be made
17 payable to plaintiff, based on the practice of the Department of the Treasury (see, e.g., Case No.
18 2:15-cv-122, Dkt. 22, p. 4). Any check for EAJA fees, expenses and costs shall be mailed to
19 plaintiff’s counsel, Elie Halpern, Esq., at Halpern Olivares, PLLC, 1800 Cooper Point Road SW,
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Dated this 27th day of March, 2017.

A

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J. Richard Creatura
United States Magistrate Judge

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ORDER ON UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR EQUAL
ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT FEES, EXPENSES
AND COSTS - 2