Sinkler v. Berryhill

317 F. Supp. 3d 687
District Court, W.D. New York·Decided July 10, 2018·No. 6:14–CV–06460 EAW·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

ELIZABETH A. WOLFORD, United States District Judge

INTRODUCTION

On July 6, 2017, Plaintiff Lakisha Janey Sinkler ("Plaintiff") filed a motion for attorneys' fees in the amount of $16,851.00 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). (Dkt. 19). The Commissioner of Social Security ("the Commissioner") did not object to the request, but the Commissioner did raise the issue of whether the motion had been timely filed. (Dkt. 21 at 3-4). On April 11, 2018, the Court issued a Decision and Order denying the motion for attorneys' fees as untimely. (Dkt. 23). In issuing its decision, the Court recognized that there was a split of authority as to the appropriate standard governing the timeliness of a § 406(b) motion. (Id. at 5-7). Although several district courts in this Circuit have touched upon this issue to varying extents, the Second Circuit has yet to weigh in on the debate. Ultimately, the Court agreed with those courts that have determined that a § 406(b) motion was constrained by the 14-day time limitation set forth in Rule 54(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (Id. at 7-10). The Court held that a § 406(b) motion is timely if it is filed within 14 days after entry of the judgment against the Commissioner. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(d) ("Unless a statute or a court order provides otherwise, the motion must ... be filed no later than 14 days after the entry of judgment."). In order to avoid an unjust result, the Court adopted the approach taken by the Third Circuit in Walker v. Astrue , 593 F.3d 274 (3d Cir. 2010), and held that this time limit would be equitably tolled until the Commissioner's notice of award was issued and the plaintiff's counsel was notified of that award. (See Dkt. 23 at 9-10, 13). In so holding, the Court rejected the Tenth Circuit's approach in McGraw v. Bamhart , 450 F.3d 493 (10th Cir. 2006) -and the approach now advocated by Plaintiff-which would permit a § 406(b) motion to be timely filed within an unspecified reasonable period of time. (Dkt. 23 at 7-19); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6), (c)(1) (providing that "the court may relieve a party or its legal representative from a final judgment, order, or proceeding" for any "reason that justifies relief" upon a motion filed "within a reasonable time"). Due to the absence of Second Circuit precedent on this issue, the Court also held, in the alternative, that Plaintiff's motion was not timely filed within a reasonable period under *690the McGraw approach. (Dkt. 23 at 19-21).

Presently before the Court is Plaintiff's motion to alter this Court's judgment. (Dkt. 24). Plaintiff argues that the Court erred in determining that Plaintiff's initial motion for attorneys" fees was governed by the constructs of Rule 54(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure -as determined by the Third, Fifth, and Eleventh Circuits-and that the Court should have applied the principles articulated in McGraw in resolving the attorneys' fees motion. (Dkt. 25). For the purposes of this Decision and Order, the Court assumes the parties' familiarity with the underlying facts and the Court's prior analysis as set forth in its April 11, 2018, Decision and Order. For the following reasons. Plaintiff's motion to alter judgment (Dkt. 24) is denied.

DISCUSSION

I. Legal Standard

Pursuant to Rule 59(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, "district courts may alter or amend judgment to correct a clear error of law or prevent manifest injustice." Munafo v. Metro. Transp. Auth. , 381 F.3d 99, 105 (2d Cir. 2004). "Reconsideration of a court's previous order is an 'extraordinary remedy to be employed sparingly in the interests of finality and conservation of scarce judicial resources.' " USA Certified Merchs., LLC v. Koebel , 273 F.Supp.2d 501, 503 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) (quoting In re Health Mgmt. Sys. Inc. Secs. Litig , 113 F.Supp.2d 613, 614 (S.D.N.Y. 2000) ). "The standard for granting such a motion is strict, and reconsideration will generally be denied unless the moving party can point to controlling decisions or data that the court overlooked-matters, in other words, that might reasonably be expected to alter the conclusion reached by the court." Davids v. Novartis Pharm. Corp. , 977 F.Supp.2d 171, 185 (E.D.N.Y. 2013) (quoting Shrader v. CSX Transp., Inc. , 70 F.3d 255, 257 (2d Cir. 1995) ); see Rafter v. Liddle , 288 F. App'x 768, 769 (2d Cir. 2008) (same). " Rule 59(e) permits a court to alter or amend a judgment, but it may not be used to relitigate old matters, or to raise arguments or present evidence that could have been raised prior to the entry of judgment." Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker , 554 U.S. 471, 486 n.5, 128 S.Ct. 2605, 171 L.Ed.2d 570 (2008) (quotation marks and citation omitted). "A district court's denial of a party's motion to alter or amend judgment under Rule 59(e) is ... reviewed for an abuse of discretion." Munafo , 381 F.3d at 105.

II. That Other Courts Have Declined to Reach the Issue of Timeliness Does Not Alter This Court's Conclusion

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Sinkler v. Berryhill, 317 F. Supp. 3d 687 (W.D.N.Y. 2018).

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