(SS) Lawrence v. Commissioner of Social Security ( 2023 )

1 PHILLIP A. TALBERT United States Attorney 2 MATHEW W. PILE, WSBA 32245 Associate General Counsel 3 Office of Program Litigation, Office 7 ELIZABETH LANDGRAF, CA 313184 4 Special Assistant United States Attorney Social Security Administration 5 6401 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21235 6 Telephone: (510) 970-4828 Facsimile: (415) 744-0134 7 Elizabeth.Landgraf@ssa.gov Attorneys for Defendant 8 9 10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 11 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 12 SACRAMENTO DIVISION 13 14 Case No. 2:22-cv-00307-KJN MICHAEL ANTHONY LAWRENCE, 15 STIPULATION FOR THE AWARD AND Plaintiff, 16 PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES AND EXPENSES PURSUANT TO THE EQUAL 17 v. ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), AND COSTS PURSUANT TO KILOLO KIJAKAZI, 28 U.S.C. § 1920 18 Acting Commissioner of Social Security, 19 Defendant. 20 21 22 23 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties through their undersigned 24 counsel, subject to the approval of the Court, that Plaintiff be awarded attorney fees and expenses 25 in the amount $7,500.00 (SEVEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED dollars) under the Equal Access 26 to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), and costs in the amount of $402.00 (FOUR 27 HUNDRED AND TWO dollars) under 28 U.S.C. § 1920. This amount represents compensation 28 for all legal services rendered on behalf of Plaintiff by counsel in connection with this civil action, 1 in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §§ 1920; 2412(d). 2 After the Court issues an order for EAJA fees to Plaintiff, the government will consider the 3 matter of Plaintiff’s assignment of EAJA fees to counsel, if any. Pursuant to Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 4 U.S. 586, 598, 130 S.Ct. 2521, 177 L.Ed.2d 91 (2010), the ability to honor any assignment will 5 depend on whether the fees are subject to any offset allowed under the United States Department 6 of the Treasury’s Offset Program. After the order for EAJA fees is entered, the government will 7 determine whether they are subject to any offset. 8 Fees shall be made payable to Plaintiff, but if the Department of the Treasury determines 9 that Plaintiff does not owe a federal debt, then the government shall cause the payment of fees, 10 expenses and costs to be made directly to counsel, pursuant to the assignment executed by Plaintiff. 11 Any payments made shall be delivered to counsel. 12 This stipulation constitutes a compromise settlement of Plaintiff’s request for EAJA 13 attorney fees and does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of Defendant under the 14 EAJA or otherwise. Payment of the agreed amount shall constitute a complete release from, and 15 bar to, any and all claims that Plaintiff and/or counsel including counsel’s firm may have relating 16 to EAJA attorney fees in connection with this action. 17 This award is without prejudice to the rights of counsel and/or counsel’s firm to seek Social 18 Security Act attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), subject to the savings clause provisions of the 19 EAJA. 20 DATE: March 3, 2023 /s/ Jared T. Walker 21 JARED T. WALKER 22 Attorney for Plaintiff *Authorized via e-mail on March 3, 2023 23 PHILLIP A. TALBERT 24 United States Attorney MATHEW W. PILE 25 Associate General Counsel Office of Program Litigation, Office 7 26 Social Security Administration // 27 // 28 // 1 By /s/ Elizabeth Landgraf ELIZABETH LANDGRAF 2 Special Assistant United States Attorney 3 Attorneys for Defendant 4 5 ORDER 6 Based upon the parties’ Stipulation for the Award and Payment of Equal Access to 7 | Justice Act Fees, Costs, and Expenses, IT IS ORDERED that fees and expenses in the amount of 8 | $7,500.00 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412, and costs in the amount of $402.00 as authorized 9 || by 28 U.S.C. § 1920, be awarded subject to the terms of the Stipulation. 10 | Dated: March 3, 2023 11 -—~’ af Al i; Noreen 12 EENDALLJ.NE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 13 lawr.307 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Stip. for EAJA Fees, 2:22-cv-00307-KIN