Jason Mills v. Commissioner of the Social Security Administration

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio grants Jason Mills's motion for attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b)(1) following a sentence-four remand and subsequent award of Social Security benefits. The court awards counsel $17,604.00 from withheld past-due benefits and directs counsel to refund the prior $3,750.00 EAJA award to the plaintiff. The court also orders release of the remaining withheld funds to the plaintiff and his dependents.

Holdings

1. A contingency-fee agreement providing for up to 25 percent of past-due benefits is subject to independent judicial review, and the court may award only a fee that is reasonable for the services rendered. The requested $17,604 fee was reasonable under the circumstances.
2. When a § 406(b)(1) fee application includes compensable paralegal work, the court may separately assess the attorney and paralegal hypothetical hourly rates and calculate the paralegal rate at one-half of the attorney rate.
3. The court may not offset a prior EAJA fee award against the requested § 406(b)(1) fee for purposes of assessing the reasonableness of the § 406(b)(1) request.
4. After receiving the § 406(b)(1) award, counsel must refund the prior $3,750 EAJA award to plaintiff.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the requested $17,604 attorney-fee award under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b)(1) was reasonable.
2. Whether the court could subtract the prior EAJA fee award from the requested § 406(b)(1) fee when calculating the hypothetical hourly rates.
3. Whether counsel was required to refund the prior EAJA award to plaintiff after receiving the § 406(b)(1) award.

Disposition

other