Godinho v. Commissioner of Social Security ( 2024 )

PHILLIP A. TALBERT 1 United States Attorney 2 MATHEW W. PILE Associate General Counsel 3 Office of Program Litigation, Office 7 JAMES KI, WSBN 42978 4 Special Assistant United States Attorney Office of Program Litigation, Office 7 5 Office of the General Counsel 6 Social Security Administration 6401 Security Boulevard 7 Baltimore, MD 21235 Telephone: (212) 264-2435 8 james.ki@ssa.gov 9 Attorneys for Defendant 10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 11 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 12 13 ) Case No.: 2:23-cv-01908-AC SHAWNNA LYNN GODINHO, ) 14 ) STIPULATION FOR THE AWARD AND Plaintiff, ) PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES 15 ) PURSUANT TO THE EQUAL ACCESS TO vs. ) JUSTICE ACT, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d); 16 ) [PROPOSED] ORDER MARTIN O’MALLEY, ) 17 Acting Commissioner of Social Security,1 ) ) 18 ) Defendant. ) 19 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties through their undersigned 20 counsel, subject to the approval of the Court, that Plaintiff be awarded attorney fees in the amount 21 $7,700.00 (SEVEN THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED dollars) under the Equal Access to Justice 22 Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). This amount represents compensation for all legal services 23 rendered on behalf of Plaintiff by counsel in connection with this civil action, in accordance with 28 24 U.S.C. §§ 1920; 2412(d). 25 26 27 1 Martin O’Malley became the Commissioner of Social Security on December 20, 2023. Pursuant to Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Martin O’Malley should be substituted for Kilolo Kijakazi as the defendant in 28 this suit. No further action need be taken to continue this suit by reason of the last sentence of section 205(g) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). 1 After the Court issues an order for EAJA fees to Plaintiff, the government will consider the 2 matter of Plaintiff’s assignment of EAJA fees to counsel, if any. Pursuant to Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 3 U.S. 586, 598, 130 S.Ct. 2521, 177 L.Ed.2d 91 (2010), the ability to honor any assignment will 4 depend on whether the fees are subject to any offset allowed under the United States Department of 5 the Treasury’s Offset Program. After the order for EAJA fees is entered, the government will 6 determine whether they are subject to any offset. 7 Fees shall be made payable to Plaintiff, but if the Department of the Treasury determines that 8 Plaintiff does not owe a federal debt, then the government shall cause the payment of fees, expenses, 9 and costs to be made directly to counsel, Francesco Benavides, pursuant to the assignment executed 10 by Plaintiff. 11 This stipulation constitutes a compromise settlement of Plaintiff’s request for EAJA attorney 12 fees, and does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of Defendant under the EAJA or 13 otherwise. Payment of the agreed amount shall constitute a complete release from, and bar to, any 14 and all claims that Plaintiff and/or counsel including counsel’s firm may have relating to EAJA 15 attorney fees or costs in connection with this action. 16 This award is without prejudice to the rights of counsel and/or counsel’s firm to seek Social 17 Security Act attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), subject to the savings clause provisions of the 18 EAJA. Respectfully submitted, 19 20 Date: January 30, 2024 /s/ Francesco P. Benavides* FRANCESCO P. BENAVIDES 21 (as authorized by email on January 30, 2024) Attorney for Plaintiff 22 Date: January 30, 2024 PHILLIP A. TALBERT 23 United States Attorney 24 MATHEW W. PILE Associate General Counsel 25 Social Security Administration 26 By: /s/ James Ki 27 JAMES KI Special Assistant United States Attorney 28 Social Security Administration Attorneys for Defendant 1 ORDER 2 Based upon the parties’ Stipulation for the Award and Payment of Equal Access to Justice 3 || Act Fees, IT IS ORDERED that fees in the amount of $7,700.00 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412, 4 || be awarded subject to the terms of the Stipulation. 5 6 DATED: January 31, 2024 □ Lhor—e_ 8 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 EAJA Stip.; No. 2:23-cv-01908-AC