(SS) Kirk v. Commissioner of Social Security

Opinion

PHILLIP A. TALBERT 1 United States Attorney Associate General Counsel 3 Office of Program Litigation, Office 7 JAMES KI, WSBN 42978 4 Special Assistant United States Attorney Office of Program Litigation, Office 7 5 Office of the General Counsel 6 Social Security Administration 6401 Security Boulevard 7 Baltimore, MD 21235 Telephone: (212) 264-2435 8 james.ki@ssa.gov 9 Attorneys for Defendant 10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 11 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 12

13 ) Case No.: 2:23-cv-01966-EFB JASON KIRK, ) 14 ) STIPULATION FOR THE AWARD AND Plaintiff, ) PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES 15 ) PURSUANT TO THE EQUAL ACCESS TO vs. ) JUSTICE ACT, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d); ORDER 16 ) MARTIN O’MALLEY, ) 17 Commissioner of Social Security, ) ) 18 ) Defendant. ) 19 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties through their undersigned 20 counsel, subject to the approval of the Court, that Plaintiff be awarded attorney fees in the amount 21 $8,200.00 (EIGHT THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED dollars) under the Equal Access to Justice Act 22 (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). This amount represents compensation for all legal services rendered 23 on behalf of Plaintiff by counsel in connection with this civil action, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §§ 24 1920; 2412(d). 25 After the Court issues an order for EAJA fees to Plaintiff, the government will consider the 26 matter of Plaintiff’s assignment of EAJA fees to counsel, if any. Pursuant to Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 27 U.S. 586, 598, 130 S.Ct. 2521, 177 L.Ed.2d 91 (2010), the ability to honor any assignment will 28 depend on whether the fees are subject to any offset allowed under the United States Department of 1 the Treasury’s Offset Program. After the order for EAJA fees is entered, the government will 2 determine whether they are subject to any offset. 3 Fees shall be made payable to Plaintiff, but if the Department of the Treasury determines that 4 Plaintiff does not owe a federal debt, then the government shall cause the payment of fees, expenses, 5 and costs to be made directly to counsel, Francesco Benavides, pursuant to the assignment executed 6 by Plaintiff. 7 This stipulation constitutes a compromise settlement of Plaintiff’s request for EAJA attorney 8 fees, and does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of Defendant under the EAJA or 9 otherwise. Payment of the agreed amount shall constitute a complete release from, and bar to, any 10 and all claims that Plaintiff and/or counsel including counsel’s firm may have relating to EAJA 11 attorney fees or costs in connection with this action. 12 This award is without prejudice to the rights of counsel and/or counsel’s firm to seek Social 13 Security Act attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), subject to the savings clause provisions of the Respectfully submitted, 15 16 Date: August 15, 2024 /s/ Francesco P. Benavides FRANCESCO P. BENAVIDES 17 (as authorized by email) Attorney for Plaintiff 18 Date: August 15, 2024 PHILLIP A. TALBERT 19 United States Attorney Associate General Counsel 21 Social Security Administration

22 By: /s/ James Ki Special Assistant United States Attorney 24 Social Security Administration Attorneys for Defendant 25

28 2 Based upon the parties’ Stipulation for the Award and Payment of Equal Access to Justice 3 Act Fees, IT IS ORDERED that fees in the amount of $8,200.00 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412, 4 be awarded subject to the terms of the Stipulation. 5 DATED: August 29, 2024 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28