Mark Francis Augare v. Commissioner of the Social Security Administration

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma granted Plaintiff’s counsel’s motion for attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). The court awarded $21,918.75, payable from withheld past-due Social Security benefits, and directed counsel to refund the smaller of the EAJA award or the § 406(b) fee to Plaintiff’s estate.

Holdings

1. An attorney's fee award under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) may not exceed 25% of the claimant's past-due benefits, and the requested $21,918.75 fee complied with both the statutory limitation and the contingency-fee agreement.
2. The court may award the full 25% fee requested when review of the contingency-fee arrangement and contemporaneous time and expense records shows that the fee is reasonable and the work was necessary in light of the result obtained.
3. A motion for attorney fees under § 406(b) may be pursued under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6) and is timely when filed within a reasonable time after the Commissioner's decision awarding benefits.
4. When counsel receives both an EAJA award and a § 406(b) award for the same representation, counsel must refund to the claimant's estate the smaller of the two amounts.

Questions Presented

1. Whether counsel's requested award of $21,918.75 under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) was permissible under the 25% statutory cap and the contingency-fee agreement.
2. Whether the requested § 406(b) fee was reasonable in light of the results obtained and the time and expense records.
3. Whether counsel's fee motion was timely under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6).
4. Whether counsel was required to refund the smaller of the EAJA award and the § 406(b) award to Plaintiff's estate.

Disposition

other