Michael Gonzales v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico granted Michael Gonzales’s motion for attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) following a sentence-four remand and a favorable disability determination. The court authorized $16,401 in fees, reduced by the previously awarded $7,000 Equal Access to Justice Act fee, for a net award of $9,401 payable from Gonzales’s past-due benefits.

Holdings

1. The requested $16,401 fee was permissible because it represented approximately 16.8 percent of the total past-due benefits and was below the 25-percent cap applicable to court representation under § 406(b).
2. The requested fee was reasonable and appropriate.
3. The authorized § 406(b) fee was reduced by the $7,000 EAJA award, resulting in a net attorney-fee payment of $9,401; if the full $16,401 were paid, counsel must refund the EAJA award to Gonzales.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the requested attorney fee under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) complied with the statutory 25-percent cap.
2. Whether the requested § 406(b) fee was reasonable in light of the character of the representation, the result obtained, counsel's time spent, any delay, and comparable awards.
3. Whether the § 406(b) award had to be reduced or offset by the previously awarded EAJA fee.

Disposition

other