Kevin Carey v. Frank Bisignano

Summary

The United States District Court for the Central District of California granted Plaintiff Kevin Carey's joint motion for attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The court awarded $9,500.00, subject to the Treasury Offset Program and potentially payable to Plaintiff’s counsel if the statutory conditions are satisfied.

Holdings

1. The court granted Plaintiff's joint motion and awarded $9,500.00 in attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
2. EAJA fees belong to Plaintiff and are subject to offset under the Treasury Offset Program. If Plaintiff assigned the right to the fees to counsel and does not owe an offset-eligible debt, the fees may be paid to Plaintiff's counsel; if Plaintiff owes such a debt, any remaining fees after offset are payable to Plaintiff.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Plaintiff was entitled to an award of attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
2. Whether the EAJA fees belonged to Plaintiff and were subject to offset under the Treasury Offset Program, with conditional payment to Plaintiff's counsel if the statutory conditions were satisfied.

Disposition

other