Penns v. O'Malley

Opinion

Marc V. Kalagian Attorney at Law: 4460 Law Offices of Lawrence D. Rohlfing, Inc., CPC 12631 East Imperial Highway Suite C-115 Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670 Tel.: (562) 868-5886 Fax: (562) 868-8868 E-mail: marc.kalagian@rksslaw.com Leonard Stone Attorney at Law: 5791 Shook & Stone 710 South 4th Street Las Vegas, NV 89101 Tel.: (702) 385-2220 Fax: (702) 384-0394 E-mail: Lstone@shookandstone.com Attorneys for Plaintiff Randal David Penns RANDAL DAVID PENNS, ) Case No.: 2:24-cv-01230-EJY ) Plaintiff, ) STIPULATION AND PROPOSED ) ORDER FOR THE AWARD AND vs. ) PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES ) AND EXPENSES PURSUANT TO FRANK BISIGNANO, ) THE EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE Commissioner of Social Security, ) ACT, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d) AND ) COSTS PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § Defendant. ) 1920 ) ) TO THE HONORABLE ELAYNA J. YOUCHAH, MAGISTRATE JUDGE OF THE DISTRICT COURT: IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED, by and between the parties through their undersigned counsel, subject to the approval of the Court, that Randal David Penns (“Penns”) be awarded attorney fees in the amount of FIFTY SEVEN HUNDRED dollars ($5,700.00) under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), and no costs under 28 U.S.C. § 1920. This amount represents compensation for all legal services rendered on behalf of Plaintiff by counsel in connection with this civil action, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §§ 1920; 2412(d). After the Court issues an order for EAJA fees to Penns, the government will consider the matter of Penns's assignment of EAJA fees to Marc Kalagian. The retainer agreement containing the assignment is attached as exhibit 1. Pursuant to Astrue v. Ratliff, 130 S.Ct. 2521, 2529 (2010), the ability to honor the assignment will depend on whether the fees are subject to any offset allowed under the United States Department of the Treasury's Offset Program. After the order for EAJA fees is entered, the government will determine whether they are subject to any offset. Fees shall be made payable to Penns, but if the Department of the Treasury determines that Penns does not owe a federal debt, then the government shall cause the payment of fees, expenses and costs to be made directly to Law Offices of Lawrence D. Rohlfing, Inc., CPC, pursuant to the assignment executed by Penns.1 Any payments made shall be delivered to Law Offices of Lawrence D. Rohlfing, Inc., CPC. Counsel agrees that any payment of costs may be made either by electronic fund transfer (ETF) or by check.

This stipulation constitutes a compromise settlement of Penns's request for EAJA attorney fees, and does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of Defendant under the EAJA or otherwise. Payment of the agreed amount shall constitute a complete release from, and bar to, any and all claims that Penns and/or 1 The parties do not stipulate whether counsel for the plaintiff has a cognizable lien under federal law against the recovery of EAJA fees that survives the Treasury Marc Kalagian including Law Offices of Lawrence D. Rohlfing, Inc., CPC, may have relating to EAJA attorney fees in connection with this action. This award is without prejudice to the rights of Marc Kalagian and/or the Law Offices of Lawrence D. Rohlfing, Inc., CPC, to seek Social Security Act attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), subject to the savings clause provisions of the EAJA. DATE: June 6, 2025 Respectfully submitted, LAW OFFICES OF LAWRENCE D. ROHLFING, INC., CPC /s/ Marc V. Kalagian BY: __________________ Marc V. Kalagian Attorney for plaintiff DATE: June 6, 2025 SIGAL CHATTAH United States Attorney /s/ David Priddy Special Assistant United States Attorney Attorneys for Defendant FRANK BISIGNANO, Commissioner of Social Security (Per e-mail authorization) ORDER Approved and so ordered: DATE: June 6, 2025 ___________________________________ THE HONORABLE ELAYNA J. YOUCHAH