Stacey A. v. Bisignano
- Dulce Foster
- 0:24-cv-01310
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Stacey A. v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security, Magistrate Judge Foster granted in part the plaintiff's motion for attorney's fees and approved the parties' joint stipulation, ordering the government to pay $10,000 in attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
Social Security disability claimants who prevail on remand and seek attorney's fees from the government under the Equal Access to Justice Act, and their attorneys.
What happened
In Stacey A. v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security (Case No. 24-cv-01310), the plaintiff had previously won a remand — meaning the court sent her Social Security case back to the agency for further review. After that victory, her attorney sought reimbursement of legal fees from the government under a federal law called the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), which allows winning parties to recover attorney's fees from the government in certain cases.
The plaintiff's attorney initially requested $10,975.00 in fees, but the two sides later reached an agreement — called a joint stipulation — to settle on $10,000. This negotiated amount became the basis for the court's ruling.
Magistrate Judge Foster granted the fee motion in part and approved the stipulation, ordering the government to pay $10,000 in attorney's fees. The court also noted, consistent with a U.S. Supreme Court case called Astrue v. Ratliff, that the fee award may be reduced if the plaintiff owes any pre-existing debt to the federal government through a program called the Treasury Offset Program. Payment is to be delivered to the plaintiff's attorney at a Roseville, Minnesota address regardless of whose name appears on the check.
The detailed version
This fee-petition order arises from a Social Security disability appeal in the District of Minnesota. After the court previously remanded the underlying action to the Commissioner of Social Security for further administrative proceedings (ECF No. 23), the plaintiff filed a Motion for Award of Attorney's Fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A) (ECF No. 30), seeking $10,975.00 in attorney's fees. The EAJA allows a prevailing party to recover attorney's fees and costs from the federal government when the government's position was not substantially justified, unless special circumstances make an award unjust.
Subsequently, both parties filed a Joint Stipulation for EAJA Fees (ECF No. 34) agreeing to a reduced award of $10,000.00, resolving the dispute over the fee amount without further litigation.
Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster granted the Fee Motion in part and approved the Joint Stipulation, ordering the government to pay $10,000.00 in attorney's fees. The court noted that pursuant to Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586 (2010), the EAJA fee award may be subject to offset under the Treasury Offset Program if the plaintiff has a pre-existing debt owed to the United States. If the Commissioner determines no such debt exists and waives the requirements of the Anti-Assignment Act (which governs assignment of federal payment claims), the fee check may be made payable to the plaintiff's attorney. If a debt subject to offset does exist, the Anti-Assignment Act waiver cannot be granted, and any remaining fees after offset will be paid by check made out to the plaintiff directly. In either scenario, the check is to be delivered to the plaintiff's attorney, Paul McGrath, at 2579 Hamline Ave. N., Suite C, Roseville, MN 55113. The court used only the plaintiff's first name and last initial per District of Minnesota privacy policy.
Reviewer note from the AI+
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