Opinion
19-cv-669-jdp
03-22-2022
JUAN CONTRERAS, Plaintiff, v. KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Acting Commissioner of Social Security Defendant.[1]
ORDER
JAMES D. PETERSON DISTRICT JUDGE
Meredith E. Marcus, counsel for plaintiff Juan Contreras, moves under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) for a fee award of $23,359.25 after Contreras was awarded $93,437.00 in past-due benefits. Dkt. 25. Counsel's requested fee represents 25 percent of Contreras's past-due benefits, so it falls within the amount allowed by statute and the parties' fee agreement. Dkt. 25-2. The commissioner does not oppose counsel's fee request. Dkt. 26.
The total amount of time that counsel's firm spent on this case for proceedings in this court was 34.45 hours, resulting in a proposed effective rate of $678.06 per hour. Of the 34.45 hours, 28.8 hours were attorney time and the remainder was for counsel's legal and office assistants. Dkt. 25-4. Counsel's rate is elevated, but the court has approved similar and even higher rates under § 406(b) for comparable results. See, e.g., DeBack v. Berryhill, No. 17-cv-924-jdp, Dkt. 31 (W.D. Wis. May 4, 2020) (approving effective rate of $800 per hour); Fischer v. Saul, No. 17-cv-327-jdp, 2019 WL 5310676 (W.D. Wis. Oct. 21, 2019) (approving effective rate of $641 per hour); Ferg v. Berryhill, No. 15-cv-665-jdp, 2018 WL 3574874 (W.D. Wis. July 25, 2018) (approving effective rate of $777 an hour). Counsel's requested fee is thus within the bounds of what is reasonable in light of counsels' risk of non-recovery, the work she performed, the results she obtained, and the amounts awarded in similar cases. The court will grant counsel's motion. For simplicity, the court will subtract the $6,252.46 fee that counsel received under the Equal Access to Justice Act, which would otherwise have to be refunded to Contreras.
ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that Meredith E. Marcus's motion for attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), Dkt. 25, is GRANTED. The court approve a representative fee of $17,106.79.