Opinion
1:02CV00693.
May 14, 2003.
ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiff's Petition for Attorney's Fees [Document #14] filed on March 19, 2003, pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act ("EAJA"), 28 U.S.C. § 5 2412(d). Based upon an attached time sheet of services rendered by Plaintiff's attorney on his behalf, Plaintiff's attorney requests attorney's fees at the rate of $125.00 per hour for fifteen (15) hours for a total award of $1,875.00. Defendant, the Commissioner of Social Security, filed a Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney's Fees [Document #15] in which she concedes that Plaintiff was the prevailing party and that Plaintiff's attorney reasonably expended services on behalf of her client prior to the Commissioner voluntarily requesting remand of this matter pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), which this Court granted. The Commissioner argues, however, that the hourly rate sought and the number of hours requested by Plaintiff's attorney are excessive and warrant reduction.
The Equal Access to Justice Act provides in part that "the amount of fees awarded under this subsection shall be based upon prevailing market rates for the kind and quality of services furnished," except that "attorney fees shall not be awarded in excess of $125.00 per hour unless the court determines that an increase in the costs of living or a special factor, such as the limited availability of qualified attorneys for the proceedings involved, justifies a higher fee." 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(A)(ii). Accordingly, part of the Court's determination of the appropriate fee must be a consideration of the prevailing market rate in the Middle District of North Carolina, for similar services provided by lawyers of reasonably comparable skills, experience and reputation. Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 895-96 n. 1 (1984); Norman v. Hous. Auth. of the City of Montgomery, 836 F.2d 1292, 1299 (11th Cir. 1998). Plaintiff therefore bears the burden of producing evidence which demonstrates that the requested rate is consistent with the prevailing market rate in the community. In the instant case, Plaintiff submitted a fee request for the services rendered by his attorney on his behalf based upon an hourly rate of $125.00 per hour. In support of his request for attorney's fees, Plaintiff submitted the same documentation in this case as did the plaintiff in the case of Lloyd v. Barnhart, 1:01CV901. For the reasons previously noted by this Court in the case of Lloyd v. Barnhart, filed on the 14th day of May, 2003, the Court finds that an award of $125.00 represents a reasonable hourly rate for an attorney with the skill level and legal experience of Plaintiff's attorney.
Plaintiff's attorney noted her legal experience in the area of Social Security law since 1983 and her work in federal court since 1985.
Whether compensation for the time expended by an attorney on a particular case is reasonable remains a matter to be decided by the Court, particularly in this instance where Defendant has raised an objection as to the time Plaintiff's attorney contends that she expended in representing Plaintiff. The Court has reviewed Plaintiff's Petition and the accompanying time sheet. The Court finds that Plaintiff's attorney's overall expenditure of time is not unreasonable. The Court, however, is concerned about the lack of detail in the time sheet of Plaintiff's attorney, particularly with respect to the two separate entries of 11-15-02 and 12-5-02, as they relate to Plaintiff's attorney's review of the record and drafting of a statement of the case and issues. As Defendant suggests, a review of Plaintiff's Brief Supporting Motion for Judgment Reversing Commissioner [Document #9] would reveal that a separate billing of 1.25 hours for this limited portion of Plaintiff's Brief would not be warranted. Given the limited significance of this portion of Plaintiff's Brief to its overall presentation, the Court can only surmise that the bulk of the time requested in the 12-5-02 entry for review of the record and drafting of a statement of the case and issues duplicates the 1.25 hours requested for review of the record in the entry at 11-15-02. The Court will therefore reduce by one hour the time requested for the entries at 11-15-02 and 12-5-02. This will result in a total of fourteen (14) hours for which Plaintiff's attorney is entitled to compensation. Based upon the fact that the Court has determined that $125.00 is a reasonable hourly rate for an attorney with the experience in Social Security law as Plaintiff's attorney possesses and the work performed on behalf of Plaintiff, the Court, in its discretion, finds that Plaintiff's counsel is entitled to reasonable attorney fees in the amount of $1,750.00 for the fourteen (14) hours that the Court accepts as being reasonably being expended on behalf of Plaintiff.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED THAT Plaintiff's Petition for Attorney's Fees is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act, Plaintiff is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees in the amount of $1,750.00.