Opinion
2:20-cv-966-KCD
04-22-2024
ANDREA METZ, Plaintiff, v. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant.
ORDER
KYLE C. DUDEK, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Having obtained an award of benefits, Andrea Metz's attorney, Michael A. Steinberg, seeks attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). (Doc. 32.) Defendant has not opposed the request.
Section 406(b) provides that an attorney who obtains a benefits award on remand may petition for a reasonable fee-not to exceed twenty-five percent of the claimant's past-due benefits-for work performed before the court.
Here, Steinberg requests $13,768.98, which is 25 percent of past-due benefits. Steinberg further asserts that the previous EAJA award of $3,598.12 will be returned to Plaintiff. (Doc. 32 at 3); see Paltan v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 519 Fed.Appx. 673, 674 (11th Cir. 2013) (noting that the attorney has the option of either refunding a prior EAJA award to the plaintiff directly or reducing the § 406(b) award by the same amount). For the reasons stated in Metz's unopposed motion, the requested fee is both reasonable and appropriate under § 406(b).
Accordingly, the unopposed fee motion (Doc. 32) is GRANTED. The clerk will enter judgment for Metz for $13,768.98 in attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b).