United States District Court, E.D. California
KATHLEEN P. DORAN, Plaintiff,
v.
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant.
ORDER
DENNIS
M. COTA UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.
Plaintiff,
who was proceeding with retained counsel, brought this action
for judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner
of Social Security under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). Pursuant to
the written consent of all parties, this case was before the
undersigned as the presiding judge for all purposes,
including entry of final judgment. See 28 U.S.C.
§ 636(c). Final judgment was entered on September 30,
2016. Pursuant to stipulation, plaintiff's counsel has
previously been awarded $6, 500 in attorney's fees under
the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). Pending before the
court is plaintiff's counsel's petition for the award
of attorney's fees in the amount of $15, 320 in fees
under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). Plaintiff was provided notice
of counsel's motion and has not filed any response
thereto.
I.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Plaintiff
initiated this action for judicial review of a final decision
of the Commissioner of Social Security on April 10, 2015.
Plaintiff's representation was provided pursuant to a
March 16, 2015, contingent-fee agreement whereby plaintiff
agreed to pay counsel 25 percent of any past-due benefits
awarded by the Commissioner. Following briefing on the
merits, the court issued a memorandum opinion and order on
September 30, 2016, remanding the matter to the Commissioner
for further proceedings. On January 10, 2016, pursuant to the
stipulation of the parties, plaintiff was awarded $6, 500 in
attorney's fees under the EAJA, payable to plaintiff less
any offsets to be determined by the government.[1] On remand to the
agency, the Commissioner granted plaintiff's application
for disability benefits and awarded $68, 643 in past-due
benefits.
II.
DISCUSSION
Under
the Social Security Act, “[w]henever a court renders a
judgment favorable to a claimant under this subchapter who
was represented before the court by an attorney, the court
may determine and allow as part of its judgment a reasonable
fee for such representation, not in excess of 25 percent of
the total past-due benefits to which the claimant is entitled
by reason of such judgment. . . .” 42 U.S.C. §
406(b)(1)(A). No other fee may be payable or certified for
such representation except as allowed in this provision.
See id.
A
remand constitutes a “favorable judgment” under
§ 406(b). See Shalala v. Schaefer, 509 U.S.
292, 300-01 (1993). While the Ninth Circuit has not directly
addressed the issue, all other circuits to address the issue
have concluded that the district court is authorized to award
fees under § 406(b) when it remands for further
proceedings and, following remand, the claimant is awarded
past-due benefits. See Garcia v. Astrue, 500
F.Supp.2d 1239, 1243 (C.D. Cal. 2007). Limiting § 406(b)
awards to cases in which the district court itself awards
past-due benefits would discourage counsel from requesting a
remand where it is appropriate. See Bergen v. Comm'r
of Soc. Sec., 454 F.3d 1273, 1277 (11th Cir. 2006).
The 25
percent statutory maximum fee is not an automatic
entitlement, and the court must ensure that the fee actually
requested is reasonable. See Gisbrecht v. Barnhart,
535 U.S. 789, 808-09 (2002). “Within the 25 percent
boundary . . . the attorney for the successful claimant must
show that the fee sought is reasonable for the services
rendered.” Id. at 807. “In determining
the reasonableness of fees sought, the district court must
respect ‘the primacy of lawful attorney-client fee
arrangements,' ‘looking first to the contingent-fee
agreement, then testing it for reasonableness.'”
Crawford v. Astrue, 586 F.3d 1142, 1149 (9th Cir.
2009) (quoting Gisbrecht, 535 U.S. at 793 and 808).
The
Supreme Court has identified five factors that may be
considered in determining whether a fee award under a
contingent-fee agreement is unreasonable and therefore
subject to reduction by the court. See Crawford, 586
F.3d at 1151-52 (citing Gisbrecht, 535 U.S. at 808).
Those factors are: (1) the character of the representation;
(2) the results achieved by the representative; (3) whether
the attorney engaged in dilatory conduct in order to increase
the accrued amount of past-due benefits; (4) whether the
benefits are large in comparison to the amount of time
counsel spent on the case; and (5) the attorney's record
of hours worked and counsel's regular hourly billing
charge for non-contingent cases. See id.
Finally,
an award of fees under § 406(b) is offset by any prior
award of attorney's fees granted under the Equal Access
to Justice Act (EAJA). See Gisbrecht, 535 U.S. at
796.
In this
case, having considered the factors above, the court finds
that plaintiff's counsel's request is reasonable
given the fee agreement with plaintiff, the results achieved,
and the lack of any evidence of dilatory conduct designed to
increase past-due benefits.
III.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiff s counsel's petition (ECF No. 33) is granted
and counsel is awarded fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. ยง
406(b) in the amount of $15, 320, paid to counsel by the
Commissioner out of past-due benefits awarded to plaintiff to
the extent ...