Opinion
5:21-cv-136-MOC
07-20-2022
TANIA HUFFMAN VALLE, v. KILOLO KIJAKAZI, Acting Commissioner of Social Security Defendant.
ORDER
Max O. Cogburn, Jr. United States District Judge
THIS MATTER is before the Court on Plaintiff's Consent Motion for Fees Pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A) filed on July 1, 2022. (Doc. No. 15). The Court determines that Plaintiff should be awarded an attorney's fee under the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), in the amount of $10,000.00.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that the Plaintiff's Motion for Fees Under the Equal Access to Justice Act 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A), (Doc. No. 15) is GRANTED, to the extent that the Court will award attorney fees in the amount of $10,000.00, and that pursuant to Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586 (2010), the fee award will first be subject to offset of any debt Plaintiff may owe to the United States.
The Commissioner will determine whether Plaintiff owes a debt to the United States. If so, the debt will be satisfied first, and if any funds remain, they will be made payable to Plaintiff and mailed to Plaintiff's counsel. If the United States Department of the Treasury reports to the Commissioner that the Plaintiff does not owe a federal debt, the government will exercise its discretion and honor an assignment of EAJA fees and pay the awarded fees directly to Plaintiff's counsel. No additional petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d) shall be filed.