Opinion
2:22-cv-00382-TL
06-15-2023
LORI G., Plaintiff, v. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR ATTORNEY FEES
Tana Lin, United States District Judge
This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff's unopposed motion for attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412. Dkt. No. 18.
Plaintiff's motion is timely filed as Plaintiff had a 60-day appeal period, in addition to the 30-day period in § 2412(d)(1)(B), from the entry of the Court's final judgement on March 23, 2023, to file an EAJA application. Akopyan v. Barnhart, 296 F.3d 852 (9th Cir. 2002); Melkonyan v. Sullivan, 501 U.S. 89, 94-96 (1991); Fed. R. App. P. 4(a).
After reviewing the record, and given that Defendant's counsel has no opposition, the Court hereby GRANTS Plaintiff's EAJA motion, including the adjusted invoice and the assignment of EAJA fees to Plaintiff's attorney. The Court hereby ORDERS that:
1) Fees in the adjusted amount of $10,500 shall be awarded to Plaintiff pursuant to Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586, 589-90 (2010) and delivered to Plaintiff's counsel;
2) The Acting Commissioner shall contact the Department of Treasury after this Order is entered to determine if the EAJA Award is subject to any offset. If the U.S. Department of the Treasury verifies to the Office of General Counsel that Plaintiff does not owe a debt, the government will honor Plaintiff's assignment of EAJA Award and pay the EAJA Award directly to Plaintiff's counsel. If there is an offset, any remainder shall be made payable to Plaintiff, based on the Department of the Treasury's Offset Program, and the payment shall be electronically deposited to Plaintiff's counsel, George Andre Fields, Esq., at P.O. Box 231024, Sacramento, CA 95823.
For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff's unopposed motion for attorney fees is GRANTED.