(SS) Michael John Jacomet v. Commissioner of Social Security ( 2019 )

1 WILLIAM M. KUNTZ, ESQ WILLIAM M. KUNTZ, PLC 2 4780 Arlington Avenue 3 Riverside, CA 92504 4 (951) 343-3400 FAX (951) 343-4004 5 E-Mail: KuntzSSlaw @ sbcglobal.net 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SACRAMENTO DIVISION 8 9 MICHAEL JOHN JACOMET, ) No.: 2:18-cv-00199-DB ) 10 Plaintiff, ) STIPULATION AND ) ORDER FOR AWARD 11 v. ) OF EAJA FEES ) 12 ) ANDREW SAUL1, Commissioner of ) 13 Social Security Administration, ) ) 14 Defendant. ) ______________________________ ) 15 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties, through their 16 undersigned counsel of record, and subject to the approval of the Court, that 17 Plaintiff be awarded attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act ("EAJA”), 18 28 U.S.C., Section 2412(d), in the amount of THREE THOUSAND FIFTY- 19 EIGHT DOLLARS and 48/cents ($3,058.48) (the “Agreed Amount”). The Agreed 20 Amount represents compensation for all legal services rendered on behalf of 21 Plaintiff by Plaintiff’s attorney in connection with this civil action for services 22 23 24 25 26 1 Andrew Saul is now the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Pursuant to Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Andrew Saul should be 27 substituted for Acting Commissioner Nancy A. Berryhill as the defendant in this suit. No further action needs to be taken to continue this suit by reason of the last sentence of section 205(g) of 28 the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). 1 performed before the district court through remand, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 2 2412 (d). 3 After the Court issues an order for EAJA Fees and expenses to Plaintiff, the 4 government will consider the matter of Plaintiff’s assignment of EAJA fees and 5 expenses to Plaintiff’s counsel. Pursuant to Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586, 598, 6 130 S.Ct. 2521, 177 L.Ed.2d 91 (2010), the ability to honor the assignment will 7 depend on whether the fees and expenses are subject to any offset allowed under 8 the United States Department of Treasury’s Offset Program. After the order for 9 EAJA Fees and expenses is entered, the government will determine whether they 10 are subject to any offset. 11 Fees and expenses shall be made payable to Plaintiff, but if the Department 12 of the Treasury determines that Plaintiff does not owe a federal debt, then the 13 government shall cause the payment of fees and expenses to be made directly to 14 Plaintiff’s counsel, pursuant to the assignment executed by Plaintiff. Any 15 payments made shall be delivered to Plaintiff’s counsel. 16 This stipulation constitutes a compromise settlement of Plaintiff’s request 17 for EAJA attorney’s fees and expenses, and does not constitute an admission of 18 liability on the part of Defendant under the EAJA. 19 Payment of the Agreed Amount shall constitute a complete release from, and 20 bar to, any and all claims Plaintiff and/or Plaintiff’s Counsel may have relating to 21 EAJA attorney fees and expenses in connection with this action. 22 This award is without prejudice to the rights of Plaintiff’s counsel, if any, to seek Social Security Act attorney fees authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), subject to 23 the provisions of the EAJA. 24 DATED: November 14, 2019 LAW OFFICES OF WILLIAM M. KUNTZ 25 /s/ William M. Kuntz 26 William M. Kuntz Attorney at Law 27 Attorney for Plaintiff MICHAEL JOHN JACOMET 28 DATED: November 13, 2019 1 2 MCGREGOR W. SCOTT United States Attorney 3 DEBORAH LEE STACHEL Regional Chief Counsel 4 /s/ - Daniel P. Talbert by 5 WILLIAM M. KUNTZ DANIEL P. TALBERT 6 Special Assistant United States Attorney Attorneys for Defendant 7 [*By e-mail authorization on November 13, 2019] 8 9 10 ORDER 11 Pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, IT IS SO ORDERED. 12 13 DATED: November 20, 2019 /s/ DEBORAH BARNES 14 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28