(SS) Baez v. Commissioner of Social Security

Opinion

PHILLIP A. TALBERT 1 United States Attorney Associate General Counsel 3 Office of Program Litigation, Office 7 Office of the General Counsel 4 Social Security Administration Special Assistant United States Attorney 6 6401 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21235 7 Telephone: (510) 570-4809 8 Email: Margaret.Branick-Abilla@ssa.gov Attorneys for Defendant 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 MICHAEL JOHN BAEZ, ) Case No. 1:23-cv-00494-SAB 12 ) Plaintiff, ) ORDER AWARDING ATTORNEY FEES 13 ) PURSUANT TO THE EQUAL ACCESS TO 14 vs. ) JUSTICE ACT, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d) ) PURSUANT TO THE STIPULATION OF ) 16 Defendant. ) (ECF 20) 17 ) ) 18 ) 19 20 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties, through their undersigned 21 counsel, subject to the approval of the Court, that Plaintiff be awarded attorney fees in the amount 22 of SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS AND ZERO CENTS ($6,000.00) under the Equal Access to 23 Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). This amount represents compensation for all legal 24 services rendered on behalf of Plaintiff by counsel in connection with this civil action, in 25 accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). 26 After the Court issues an order for EAJA fees to Plaintiff, the government will consider the 27 matter of Plaintiff’s assignment of EAJA fees to counsel Jonathan O. Pena (Counsel). Pursuant to 28 Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586, 598 (2010), the ability to honor the assignment will depend on 1 whether the fees are subject to any offset allowed under the United States Department of the 2 Treasury’s Offset Program. After the order for EAJA fees is entered, the government will 3 determine whether they are subject to any offset. 4 Fees shall be made payable to Plaintiff, but if the Department of the Treasury determines 5 that Plaintiff does not owe a federal debt, then the government shall cause the payment of fees to 6 be made directly to Counsel, pursuant to the assignment executed by Plaintiff. Any payments 7 made shall be delivered to Counsel. 8 This stipulation constitutes a compromise settlement of Plaintiff’s request for EAJA 9 attorney fees, and does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of Defendant under the 10 EAJA or otherwise. Payment of the agreed amount shall constitute a complete release from, and 11 bar to, any and all claims that Plaintiff and/or Counsel, including Counsel’s law firm and 12 associates, may have relating to EAJA attorney fees in connection with this action. 13 This award is without prejudice to the rights of Counsel to seek Social Security Act 14 attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), subject to the savings clause provisions of the EAJA. 15 Respectfully submitted,

16 Dated: July 3, 2024 PENA & BROMBERG, PLC 17 By: /s/ Jonathan O. Pena* Attorneys for Plaintiff 19 [*As authorized by e-mail on July 3, 2024] 20

21 Dated: July 8, 2024 PHILLIP A. TALBERT 22 United States Attorney

23 By: /s/ Margaret Branick-Abilla ___ MARGARET BRANICK-ABILLA 24 Special Assistant United States Attorney 25 Attorneys for Defendant

27 28 ORDER 2 3 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that fees and expenses in the amount of SIX THOUSAN 4 || DOLLARS ($6,000.00) as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412 are awarded subject to the terms of th 5 || stipulation. 6 7 |lTT IS SO ORDERED. 9 il (re |[Dated: duly 8, 2024 OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28