Wickman v. Commissioner of Social Security

Opinion

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

MARY A. WICKMAN, Civil No. 3:19-cv-05921-RSM Plaintiff,

vs. ORDER

Defendant.

For the reasons set forth in the parties’ stipulated motion for attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412, et seq., and good cause shown, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AS FOLLOWS: Plaintiff is here by awarded $8,931.92 in fees and $102.75 in expenses under the EAJA. Under Astrue v. Ratliff, 130 S. Ct. 2521, 2528-29 (2010), EAJA fees awarded by this Court belong to the Plaintiff and are subject to offset under the Treasury Offset Program (31 U.S.C. § 3716(c)(3)(B) (2006)). Any EAJA fees should therefore be awarded to Plaintiff and not to Plaintiff’s attorney. If, after receiving the Court’s EAJA fee order, the Commissioner (1) determines that Plaintiff has assigned her right to EAJA fees to her attorney; (2) determines that Plaintiff does not owe a debt that is subject to offset under the Treasury Offset Program; and (3) agrees to waive the requirements of the Anti-Assignment Act, then the EAJA fees will be made payable to Plaintiff’s attorney. However, if there is a debt owed under the Treasury Offset Program, the Commissioner cannot agree to waive the requirements of the Anti-Assignment Act, and the remaining EAJA fees after offset will be paid by a check made out to Plaintiff but delivered to Plaintiff’ s attorney.

DATED this 29th day of October, 2021.

A CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Presented by:

s/ Sarah Moum SARAH MOUM Special Assistant United States Attorney Office of the General Counsel Social Security Administration 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2900 M/S 221A Seattle, WA 98104-7075 Telephone: (206) 615-2936 Fax: (206) 615-2531 sarah.moum@ssa.gov