Perkins v. Colvin

• Court: District Court, W.D. Washington
• Decided: June 19, 2020
• Docket: 2:16-cv-00215
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR 1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE 9 SUZANNE PERKINS, CASE NO. C16-0215-JCC 10 Plaintiff, ORDER 11 v. 12 SOCIAL SECURITY COMMISSIONER, 13 Defendant. 14

15 This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s unopposed motion for attorney fees 16 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) (Dkt. No. 17). Plaintiff’s attorney has requested $9,960.00 for her 17 representation of Plaintiff in federal court. (Id. at 1.) For the foregoing reasons, the Court 18 GRANTS the motion. 19 I. DISCUSSION 20 Under § 406(b), a court entering judgment in favor of a social security disability 21 insurance claimant who was represented by an attorney “may determine and allow as part of its 22 judgment a reasonable fee for such representation, not in excess of 25 percent of the total of the 23 past-due benefits to which the claimant is entitled by reason of such judgment.” In determining 24 whether to grant a § 406(b) fee request, the court must first ensure that the requested fee is 25 consistent with the contract between the plaintiff and their attorney. See Crawford v. Astrue, 586 26 F.3d 1142, 1148 (9th Cir. 2009) (citing Gisbrecht v. Barnhart, 535 U.S. 789, 808–09 (2002)). 1 The court must then test the requested fee for reasonableness. Id. (citing Gisbrecht, 535 U.S. at 2 808). The court has broad discretion to decide if a fee request is reasonable or to adjust a fee 3 downward if the request is unreasonable. See Gisbrecht, 535 U.S. at 808. 4 Here, the request of Plaintiff’s attorney is appropriate under § 406(b). Plaintiff is entitled 5 to past-due benefits totaling over $100,000.00. (Dkt. No. 17 at 6.) Plaintiff’s attorney has 6 requested an award of $9,960.00 in attorney fees. (Id. at 1.) This figure is significantly lower 7 than the statutory cap and the 25 percent that Plaintiff agreed to pay her attorney. (See Dkt. No. 8 17-4 at 1.) Furthermore, the effective hourly rate of Plaintiff’s attorney is less than those 9 approved by other courts in such actions, properly accounts for the risks involved in social 10 security litigation, and is reasonable in light of the efficient and effective representation provided 11 by Plaintiff’s attorney. See Shubin v. Colvin, 2015 WL 233243, slip op. at 2 & n.2 (C.D. Cal. 12 2015) (observing that courts often approve hourly fees in excess of $1,000); Hayes v. Sec. of 13 Health & Human Servs., 923 F.2d 418, 422 (6th Cir. 1990) (remarking on the fact that effective 14 hourly rates in social security cases are higher than normal given then inherent risks in such 15 cases). Accordingly, the Court AWARDS attorney fees totaling of $9,960.00 to Plaintiff’s 16 attorney pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). 17 II. CONCLUSION 18 For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees (Dkt. No. 17) is 19 GRANTED. Plaintiff’s attorney is AWARDED attorney fees totaling $9,960.00. Defendant is 20 DIRECTED to send a fee of $9,960.00 to Plaintiff’s attorney, minus any applicable processing 21 fees as allowed by statute. On receipt of payment of the fee, Plaintiff’s attorney is directed to 22 refund to Plaintiff any amount of fees that Plaintiff’s attorney received under the Equal Access to 23 Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412. 24 // 25 // 26 // 1 DATED this 19th day of June 2020. A 2 3 4 John C. Coughenour 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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