(SS) Maldonado v. Commissioner of Social Security

• Court: District Court, E.D. California
• Decided: June 3, 2024
• Docket: 1:24-cv-00110
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 Francesco Benavides, CSBN 258924 Law Offices of Francesco Benavides 2 1990 N. California Blvd. Suite 20 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 3 Tel: (925) 222-7071 4 Fax: (925) 522-5306 Email: francesco@benavidesdisabilitylaw.com 5

6 Attorney for Plaintiff RAFAEL ADRIAN MALDONADO 7

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 FRESNO DIVISION 11

12 RAFAEL ADRIAN Case No. 1:24-cv-00110-KES-EPG 13 MALDONADO, STIPULATION FOR THE AWARD AND 14 Plaintiff, PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES AND 15 EXPENSES PURSUANT TO THE v. EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT; 16 ORDER 17 MARTIN J. O’MALLEY, Commissioner of Social Security, 18 19 Defendant. 20 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties through their 21 undersigned counsel, subject to the approval of the Court, that Plaintiff be awarded 22 attorney fees and expenses in the amount of $6,863.81, under the Equal Access to 23 Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), and no costs under 28 U.S.C. § 1920. This 24 amount represents compensation for all legal services rendered on behalf of Plaintiff by 25 counsel in connection with this civil action, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §§ 2412(d), 26 1920. 27 After the Court issues an order for EAJA fees to Plaintiff, the government will 1 Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586, 598, 130 S.Ct. 2521, 177 L.Ed.2d 91 (2010), the ability 2 to honor the assignment will depend on whether the fees are subject to any offset 3 allowed under the United States Department of the Treasury’s Offset Program. After 4 the order for EAJA fees is entered, the government will determine whether they are 5 subject to any offset. 6 Fees shall be made payable to Plaintiff, but if the Department of the Treasury 7 determines that Plaintiff does not owe a federal debt, then the government shall cause 8 the payment of fees, expenses and costs to be made directly to Plaintiff’s counsel, 9 Francesco Benavides, pursuant to the assignment executed by Plaintiff. 10 Payment of costs may be made either by electronic fund transfer (ETF) or by 11 check. 12 This stipulation constitutes a compromise settlement of Plaintiff’s request for 13 EAJA attorney fees and does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of 14 Defendant under the EAJA or otherwise. Payment of the agreed amount shall 15 constitute a complete release from, and bar to, any and all claims that Plaintiff and/or 16 Francesco Benavides, including the Law Offices of Francesco Benavides, may have 17 relating to EAJA attorney fees in connection with this action. 18 This award is without prejudice to the rights of Francesco Benavides to seek 19 Social Security Act attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), subject to the savings 20 clause provisions of the EAJA. 21

22 Respectfully submitted, 23

24 Dated: May 30, 2024 Law Offices of Francesco Benavides 25 By: /s/ Francesco Benavides 26 FRANCESCO P. BENAVIDES 27 Attorney for Plaintiff 1

3 Dated: May 30, 2024 PHILLIP A. TALBERT 4 United States Attorney MATHEW W. PILE, WSBA 32245 5 Associate General Counsel 6 Social Security Administration

8 By: /s/ Edmund Darcher* 9 EDMUND DARCHER Special Assistant U.S. Attorney 10 Attorneys for Defendant 11 (*Francesco Benavides attests that Edmund Darcher concurred with the filing of this 12 document and permission to use his electronic 13 signature was obtained via email on May 30, 2024). 14

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 ORDER 2 3 Based upon the parties’ Stipulation for the Award and Payment of Equal Access 4 || to Justice Act Fees and Expenses, IT IS ORDERED that fees and expenses in the 5 | amount of $6,863.81 as authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 2412, and no costs under 28 U.S.C. 6 || § 1920, be awarded subject to the terms of the Stipulation. 7 g || IT IS SO ORDERED. _ : 9 Dated: _ June 3, 2024 4h 10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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