1 Francesco Benavides, CSBN 258924 Law Offices of Francesco Benavides 2 1990 N. California Blvd. 8th Floor Walnut Creek, CA 94596 3 Tel: (925) 222-7071 4 Email: [email protected]

5 Attorney for Plaintiff 6 PAUL RENE ROMERO

7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 FRESNO DIVISION 11 PAUL RENE ROMERO, Case No. 1:24-cv-01071-SKO 12 13 Plaintiff, STIPULATION AND UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR THE AWARD AND 14 v. PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES AND 15 EXPENSES PURSUANT TO THE LELAND DUDEK, Acting EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT; 16 Commissioner of Social Security, ORDER 17 Defendant. (Doc. 16) 18 19 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 $7,400.00, under the Equal Access to 23 Justice Act (EAJA),

(d), and $405.00 in costs under

. 24 This amount represents compensation for all legal services rendered on behalf of 25 Plaintiff by counsel in connection with this civil action, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 26 §§ 2412(d), 1920. 27 After the Court issues an order for EAJA fees to Plaintiff, the government will 1 Astrue v. Ratliff,

,

,

(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 Payments may be made by electronic funds transfer (EFT) or by check. 11 This stipulation constitutes a compromise settlement of Plaintiff’s request for 12 EAJA attorney fees and does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of 13 Defendant under the EAJA or otherwise. Payment of the agreed amount shall 14 constitute a complete release from, and bar to, any and all claims that Plaintiff and/or 15 Francesco Benavides, including the Law Offices of Francesco Benavides, may have 16 relating to EAJA attorney fees in connection with this action. 17 This award is without prejudice to the rights of Francesco Benavides to seek 18 Social Security Act attorney fees under

(b), subject to the savings 19 clause provisions of the EAJA. 20

21 Respectfully submitted, 22

23 Dated: February 20, 2025 Law Offices of Francesco Benavides 24 By: /s/ Francesco Benavides 25 FRANCESCO P. BENAVIDES 26 Attorney for Plaintiff

27 1

2 Dated: February 20, 2025 MICHELE BECKWITH 3 Acting United States Attorney 4 MATHEW W. PILE Associate General Counsel 5 Social Security Administration 6 By: Mary Tsai* 7 MARY TSAI 8 Special Assistant U.S. Attorney 9 Attorneys for Defendant (*Permission to use electronic signature 10 obtained via email on February 20, 2025). 11 ORDER 12

13 Based upon the parties’ foregoing Stipulation and Unopposed Motion for the 14 15 Award and Payment of Equal Access to Justice Act Fees and Expenses (Doc. 16), IT IS 16 ORDERED that fees and expenses in the amount of $7,400.00 as authorized by 28

, and $405.00 in costs under

, be awarded subject to the 18 19 terms of the Stipulation. 20

21 IT IS SO ORDERED.

22 Dated: February 21, 2025 /s/ Sheila K. Oberto . 23 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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