Emelia Gallo v. Commissioner of Social Security

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California granted counsel’s motion for attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) following a remand and subsequent award of past-due Social Security benefits. The court approved a gross fee award of $22,000 and directed counsel to refund the previously awarded $7,000 in EAJA fees to the plaintiff. The court found the requested fee reasonable based on the representation, result achieved, hours worked, and absence of dilatory or substandard conduct.

Holdings

1. A court may approve a contingency-fee award for successful representation of a Social Security claimant when the award does not exceed 25% of past-due benefits and is reasonable in light of the representation and result achieved.
2. A comparatively high effective hourly rate does not by itself make a contingency-fee award unreasonable because the lodestar is only a guidepost in § 406(b) contingency-fee matters and may not fully reflect the risk assumed by counsel.
3. The motion for § 406(b) fees was granted for a gross award of $22,000, and counsel was required to remit the previously awarded $7,000 in EAJA fees directly to Plaintiff upon receipt.

Questions Presented

1. Whether counsel's requested $22,000 attorney-fee award was reasonable under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b).
2. Whether the requested fee, although producing an effective hourly rate of $711.97, was an impermissible windfall or otherwise excessive.

Disposition

other