Evans v. Berryhill

298 F. Supp. 3d 1210
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maine
DecidedJanuary 2, 2018
DocketCiv. No. 16–2628 (BRT)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 298 F. Supp. 3d 1210 (Evans v. Berryhill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Evans v. Berryhill, 298 F. Supp. 3d 1210 (D. Me. 2018).

Opinion

BECKY R. THORSON, United States Magistrate Judge

On August 3, 2016, Plaintiff Cheryl A. Evans sought judicial review of the denial of her applications for social security disability benefits. (Doc. No. 1.) On August 31, 2017, the Court granted Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, denied Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, and ordered this case remanded for calculation and an award of benefits pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) (sentence four). (Doc. No. 19, 8/31/17 Memorandum Opinion and Order.) Now before the Court is Plaintiff's motion for attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. (Doc. No. 21, Appl. for Award of Att'ys Fees ("Pl.'s Appl.").) Plaintiff requests compensation, as reduced in her Reply Brief, for 95 hours at an hourly (average) rate of $195.00. (Doc. No. 25, Pl.'s Reply Br. in Resp. to Def.'s Obj. to Pl.'s EAJA Pet. ("Pl. Reply") 12.) For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff's motion is granted.

I. Analysis

A. Equal Access to Justice Act Requirements

Under the EAJA, a prevailing party in an action for judicial review of agency action is entitled to an award of fees and expenses, unless the court finds that the position of the United States was substantially justified. 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A). Fees awarded pursuant to the EAJA must be reasonable. Dini v. Astrue , No. 08-5852 (DSD/JJG), 2010 WL 153681, at *3 (D. Minn. Jan. 11, 2010) ("[F]ees and other expenses includes ...reasonable attorney fees ...based on prevailing market rates for the kind and quality of the services furnished ...") (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(A) ) (internal quotations omitted).

To receive a fee award under the EAJA, the applicant must "submit to the court an application for fees and other expenses which shows that the party is a prevailing party and is eligible to receive an award under this subsection." 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B). A party who obtains a sentence-four remand, such as Plaintiff, qualifies as a "prevailing party" under the EAJA. See McGrath v. Astrue , Civil No. 10-4192 (ADM/SER), 2012 WL 4898276, at *2 (D. Minn. Oct. 1, 2012) (citing Shalala v. Schaefer , 509 U.S. 292, 300-01, 113 S.Ct. 2625, 125 L.Ed.2d 239 (1993) ). An applicant is "eligible to receive" an EAJA award if his or her net worth did not exceed $2,000,000 at the time the civil action was filed. See S.E.C. v. Zahareas , 374 F.3d 624, 630 (8th Cir. 2004). The application must also state "the amount sought, including an itemized statement from any attorney or expert witness representing or appearing on behalf of the party stating the actual time expended and the rate at which fees and other expenses were computed" and "allege that the position of the *1212United States was not substantially justified." 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B).

Plaintiff's petition satisfies the facial requirements set forth in § 2412(d)(1)(B). In response, Defendant does not object to Plaintiff's attorneys receiving EAJA fees, but to the amount requested. (Doc. No. 24, Def.'s Opp'n to Pl.'s Counsel's Mot. for Att'y Fees ("Def.'s Opp.") 2-7.) Thus, Defendant concedes that its position in this litigation was not substantially justified. See, e.g., Theis v. Astrue , 828 F.Supp.2d 1006, 1008 (E.D. Ark. 2011) (noting that "the Commissioner concedes that the plaintiff is entitled to an award of attorney's fees pursuant to the Act," and then foregoing a discussion of the standard for substantial justification). Defendant also does not object to Plaintiff's proposed hourly rate ranging between $193.75 and $197.50. (See Def.'s Opp.) The Court agrees that this amount was reasonably calculated based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index ("CPI"). (See Pl.'s Appl., Ex.C); Hickey v. Secretary of HHS , 923 F.2d 585, 586 (8th Cir. 1991) (stating that the CPI "constitutes 'proper proof' of the increased cost of living since the EAJA's enactment and justifies" an increased attorney's fees award) (quoting Johnson v. Sullivan , 919 F.2d 503, 505 (8th Cir. 1990) ).

B. Plaintiff's Counsel is Entitled to an EAJA Award

Plaintiff requests an award for 95 hours of work performed by her attorneys, Asha Sharma, Paul McGrath, and Caryn Ye. (See generally Pl.'s Reply; see also Doc. No. 21, Pl.'s Appl., Ex. A.) Defendant argues that the total time for reimbursement should be reduced to no more than thirty-five hours because "[the time allowed for certain tasks] were either excessive or included time spent that is not compensable under the EAJA." (Def.'s Opp. 3.) Defendant claims that "nothing about the facts and issues in this matter support a deviation from the average EAJA award, which is 20-40 hours" (id. at 3); the 1.5 hours of work performed prior to the filing of the Complaint is non-compensable under the EAJA (id.

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Bluebook (online)
298 F. Supp. 3d 1210, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/evans-v-berryhill-med-2018.