Mark Anthony Slover v. Commissioner of the Social Security Administration

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma granted counsel’s motion for attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) in a Social Security disability appeal. The court awarded $11,973.75, payable from withheld past-due benefits, and directed counsel to refund the smaller of the EAJA award or the § 406(b) award to the plaintiff’s estate. The court found the fee request reasonable and timely under applicable Tenth Circuit precedent.

Holdings

1. The requested $11,973.75 fee was permissible and reasonable because it did not exceed the 25% contingency-fee limit, was consistent with the fee agreement, and was supported by reasonable and necessary time and expense records in light of the result obtained.
2. The fee request was timely because it was filed within a reasonable time after the Commissioner's November 4, 2025 Notice of Award.
3. Counsel must refund to Plaintiff's estate the smaller of the EAJA fees previously awarded and the § 406(b) fees awarded in this decision.

Questions Presented

1. Whether counsel's requested fee of $11,973.75 was permissible and reasonable under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b).
2. Whether the § 406(b) fee request was timely under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6).
3. Whether counsel was required to refund to Plaintiff's estate the smaller of the EAJA award and the § 406(b) award.

Disposition

other