Filed: Aug. 08, 2019
Latest Update: Aug. 08, 2019
Summary: ORDER ANDREW T. BAXTER , Magistrate Judge . WHEREAS, counsel for plaintiff has moved for a supplemental award of attorney's fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 406(b) (Dkt. No. 19), as to which counsel for the Commissioner raised only the issue as to whether the fee sought by counsel would constitute a "windfall." (Dkt. No. 24), and WHEREAS, for the reasons stated in plaintiff's counsel's Notice (Dkt. No. 19) and Declaration (Dkt. No. 19-1), the court finds that: (1) the supplemental amount reque
Summary: ORDER ANDREW T. BAXTER , Magistrate Judge . WHEREAS, counsel for plaintiff has moved for a supplemental award of attorney's fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 406(b) (Dkt. No. 19), as to which counsel for the Commissioner raised only the issue as to whether the fee sought by counsel would constitute a "windfall." (Dkt. No. 24), and WHEREAS, for the reasons stated in plaintiff's counsel's Notice (Dkt. No. 19) and Declaration (Dkt. No. 19-1), the court finds that: (1) the supplemental amount reques..
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ORDER
ANDREW T. BAXTER, Magistrate Judge.
WHEREAS, counsel for plaintiff has moved for a supplemental award of attorney's fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) (Dkt. No. 19), as to which counsel for the Commissioner raised only the issue as to whether the fee sought by counsel would constitute a "windfall." (Dkt. No. 24), and
WHEREAS, for the reasons stated in plaintiff's counsel's Notice (Dkt. No. 19) and Declaration (Dkt. No. 19-1), the court finds that: (1) the supplemental amount requested does not exceed the statutory 25% contingency cap1; (2) there was no suggestion in the record of any fraud or overreaching in the making of the fee agreement; and (3) the requested supplemental amount, which reflects an effective hourly rate of $600, is high by the standards of the Northern District of New York, but not so large as to constitute a "windfall" to the attorney in the circumstances of this case, particularly in light of the contingent fee arrangements common in Social Security disability appeals. See, e.g., Trupia v. Astrue, No. 05-CV-6085, 2008 WL 858994, *3-4 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 27, 2008) (finding award equivalent to $714.09 per hour not a windfall); Blizzard v. Commissioner of Soc. Sec., 496 F.Supp.2d 320, 323-24 (S.D.N.Y. 2007) (finding award equivalent to $705 per hour not a windfall); Joslyn v. Barnhart, 389 F.Supp.2d 454, 456 (W.D.N.Y. 2005) (finding award equivalent to $891.61 per hour not a windfall); Whittico v. Colvin, No. 09-CV-907, 2014 WL 1608671 (N.D.N.Y. Apr. 22, 2014) (finding effective hourly rate of $1,100.62 a windfall, but reducing rate to $685.28 per hour).
ACCORDINGLY, the court determines that the amount of the fees requested for the time spent and results achieved in this District Court case is reasonable and ORDERS that plaintiff's motion (Dkt. No. 19) seeking an award of additional attorney fees in the sum of $15,540, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) be GRANTED.