IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON
RYAN G. MAJORS
Plaintiff,
v.
COMMISSIONER SOCIAL SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION,
Defendant.
MARSH, Judge
Case No. 6:12-cv-00915-MA
ORDER ON ATTORNEY FEES
Plaintiff Ryan G. Majors brought this action seeking review of
the Commissioner's decision to deny his application for disability
insurance benefits and supplemental security income disability
benefits. In a February 22, 2013 Order, based on the stipulation
of the parties, I reversed the Commissioner's decision and remanded
the case pursuant to sentence six of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) for further
administrative proceedings. On remand, the Commissioner issued a
fully favorable decision finding plaintiff disabled.
Following plaintiff's unopposed application for Attorney Fees
under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412, I
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I entered an order awarding plaintiff $3,779.71 in fees in this
matter. ( #35.)
Plaintiff's attorney, Alan Stuart Graf, now seeks an award of
fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) in the amount of $18,405.00.
Defendant has no objection to the request.
follow, plaintiff's motion is granted.
STANDARD
For the reasons that
After entering a judgment in favor of a Social Security
claimant who was represented by counsel, a court "may determine and
allow as part of its judgment a reasonable fee for such
representation, not in excess of twenty-five percent of the total
of the past-due benefits to which the claimant is entitled by
reason of such judgment.'' 42 U.S.C. § 406(b)(l)(A). An award of
fees under§ 406(b) is paid from claimant's past due benefits, and
an attorney receiving such an award may not seek any other
compensation from the claimant. Gisbrecht v. Barnhart, 535 U.S.
789, 796-807 (2002). Accordingly, when a court approves both an
EAJA fee and a § 406(b) fee payment, the claimant's attorney must
refund to the claimant the amount of the smaller of the two
payments. Id.
Under Gisbrecht, the court must first examine the contingency
fee agreement to determine whether it is within the statutory 25
percent cap. Id. at 800. The court also must " 'review for
reasonableness fees yielded by [contingency fee] agreements.'"
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Crawford v. Astrue, 586 F.3d 1142, 1152 (9th Cir. 2009) (en
bane) (quoting Gisbrecht,
Crawford, the court must
535 U.S. at 808) ) . As set
apply the following factors:
forth in
( 1) the
character of the representation, (2) the results achieved, (3) any
delay attributable to the attorney requesting the fee, (4) whether
the benefits of the representation were out of proportion with the
time spent on the case, and (5) the risk assumed by counsel in
accepting the case. Id. at 1151-52.
DISCUSSION
Here, the terms of the contingent-fee agreement. between
Plaintiff and Attorney Graf are within the statutory limits of
§ 406(b). The $18,405.00 in attorney fees Graf seeks amounts to 19
percent of the retroactive benefits awarded to Plaintiff. See
Memorandum in Support (#37), Ex. 5, p.4.
I have reviewed the record in the case, the motion, and the
supporting materials including the award of benefits, the fee
agreement with counsel, and the recitation of counsel's hours and
services. Applying the standards set by Crawford, I find the
requested fees reasonable. There is no indication that Attorney
Graf was either ineffective or dilatory, and he achieved a
favorable result for plaintiff. Furthermore, the amount of fees
requested is not out of proportion to the work performed by Graf,
and the benefits are not so large in comparison to the amount of
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time counsel spent that a reduction of the fees requested is
justified.
In short, after applying the Gisbrecht factors, as interpreted
by Crawford, I find that plaintiff's counsel has demonstrated that
a 19 percent fee is reasonable for this case.
Attorney Graf represents that he has received $3,779.71 in
fees previously awarded under EAJA. Accordingly, the requested
fees of $18,405.00 under§ 406(b) must be reduced by the EAJA fees.
Therefore, the Commissioner is directed to send plaintiff's
attorney $14,625.29, less any applicable processing fees as allowed
by statute.
CONCLUSION
For these reasons, Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney Fees (#36)
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) in the amount of $14,625.29 is
GRANTED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED this ___]j"_ day of APRIL, 2014.
Malcolm F. Marsh
United States District Judge
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