Hernandez v. Saul

Opinion

RAMON H., Case No.: 21-cv-0225-SBC

Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING WITHOUT v. PREJUDICE JOINT MOTION FOR ATTORNEY’S FEES AND LELAND DUDEK, Acting Commissioner EXPENSES PURSUANT TO THE of Social Security, EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT, Defendant. 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d) AND COSTS PURSUANT TO 19 U.S.C. § 1920 [ECF NO. 29] Presently before the Court is the parties’ second joint motion for the award of attorney’s fees and expenses pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d) (“EAJA”) and costs pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920. (ECF No. 29.) Under the EAJA, the prevailing party must file an application for fees, expenses, and costs within thirty days of a final judgment. 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B). The thirty-day filing period does not begin to run until after the sixty-day appeal period in Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(a) has lapsed, “even when the Commissioner of Social Security Administration, following a sentence-six remand, has awarded benefits to a claimant who then obtains a judgment to which the Commissioner consents in the district court.” Hoa Hong Van v. Barnhart, 483 F.3d 600, 612 (9th Cir. 2007) (citing Melkonyan v. Sullivan, 501 U.S. 89, 102 (1991) and Shalala v. Schaefer, 509 U.S. 292 (1993)); see also Krebs v. Berryhill, Case No. 16-CV-3096 JLS (BGS), 2018 WL 2086151, at *2 (S.D. Cal. May 4, 2018). The judgment in this case was entered on April 23, 2025. (ECF No. 31.) The appeal period ends June 23, 2025. Thus, a motion for attorney’s fees, expenses, and costs under EAJA is not timely until June 23, 2025. Accordingly, the parties’ joint motion is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The parties may re-file a joint motion in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 2412 and the other authorities set forth in this order at the appropriate time. Dated: April 23, 2025 YF A. fon. SteveB.Chu United States Magistrate Judge