Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:10cv810-CSC (WO)
04-26-2012
HERCULES HUNTLEY, Plaintiff, v. MICHAEL J. ASTRUE, COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant.
ORDER
Now pending before the court is the plaintiff's motion for attorney's fees pursuant to the Equal Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d) filed on April 11, 2012. (Doc. # 17). The defendant does not oppose an award of fees. See Doc. # 19.
On May 5, 2008, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Reeves v. Astrue, 526 F.3d 732 (11th Cir. 2008) in which the Court unambiguously held that "attorney's fees are awarded to the prevailing party, not to the prevailing party's attorney." Id. at 738. On June 14, 2010, the United States Supreme Court decided Astrue v. Ratliff, — S.Ct. —, 2010 WL 2346547 (2010) in which the Court unambiguously held that attorney's fees are awarded to the prevailing litigant, not to prevailing litigant's attorney. See also Reeves v. Astrue, 526 F.3d 732, 738 (11th Cir. 2008) ("attorney's fees are awarded to the prevailing party, not to the prevailing party's attorney.").
Accordingly, upon consideration of the motion, and for good cause, it is ORDERED as follows:
1. That the motion for attorney's fees (doc. # 17) be and is hereby GRANTED to the extent that the plaintiff be and is hereby AWARDED fees in the amount of $3,770.24.
2. To the extent that plaintiff's counsel requests that fees should be awarded to directly to counsel, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A) authorizes the court to award fees to the prevailing party. See 28 U.S.C. § (d)(2)(B). See also Reeves, supra. The motion that fees be paid directly to counsel be and is hereby DENIED.
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CHARLES S. COODY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE