Opinion
Case No. 1:19-cv-22911-KMM
12-08-2020
IDALMIS DE LA CARIDAD BRITO, Plaintiff, v. ANDREW SAUL, ACTING COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Defendant.
ORDER ON REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon Plaintiff Idalmis De La Caridad Brito's Motion for Attorneys' Fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act ("EAJA") and Incorporated Memorandum of Law. ("Mot.") (ECF No. 26). The matter was referred to the Honorable Jacqueline Becerra, United States Magistrate Judge, who issued a Report and Recommendation ("R&R") recommending that Plaintiff's Motion be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. (ECF No. 30). No objections were filed and the time to do so has passed. The matter is now ripe for review. As set forth below, the Court ADOPTS the R&R.
The Court may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3).
Plaintiff requests $9,345.15 in attorneys' fees for forty-five (45) hours of attorney work pursuant to the EAJA. Mot. at 2. As set forth in the R&R, Magistrate Judge Becerra makes the following findings: (1) Plaintiff is entitled to recover attorneys' fees under the EAJA; (2) the amount requested by Plaintiff should be reduced to a total of $7,848.45 in attorneys' fees; (3) Plaintiff's counsel Joseph Teplicki should be compensated at an hourly rate of $205.25 for work performed in 2019 and $206.77 for work performed in 2020; (4) the number of hours Plaintiff requests should be reduced by 6.8 hours to a total of 38.2 hours; and (5) the attorneys' fee award should be payable to Plaintiff's counsel, "less any government debt Plaintiff owes." R&R at 2-12. This Court agrees.
Accordingly, UPON CONSIDERATION of the Motion, the R&R, the pertinent portions of the record, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, it is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the R&R (ECF No. 30) is ADOPTED. Consistent with Magistrate Judge Becerra's R&R, Plaintiff's Motion for Attorneys' Fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) and Incorporated Memorandum of Law (ECF No. 26) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Plaintiff is awarded $7,848.45 in attorneys' fees, which should be sent to Plaintiff's counsel after the Government determines whether Plaintiff owes a federal debt.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Miami, Florida, this 8th day of December, 2020.
/s/_________
K. MICHAEL MOORE
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE c: All counsel of record