(SS) Chamberlin v. Commissioner of Social Security

United States District Court for the Eastern District of California

(SS) Chamberlin v. Commissioner of Social Security

Trial Court Opinion

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 ASHLEY CORRYN CHAMBERLIN

7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 SACRAMENTO DIVISION 11 ASHLEY CORRYN Case No. 2:24-cv-01382-CSK 12 CHAMBERLIN, 13 STIPULATION FOR THE AWARD AND Plaintiff, PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES AND 14 EXPENSES PURSUANT TO THE 15 v. EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT; [PROPOSED] ORDER 16 FRANK BISIGNANO, 17 Commissioner of Social Security,

18 Defendant. 19 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties through their 20 undersigned counsel, subject to the approval of the Court, that Plaintiff be awarded 21 attorney fees and expenses in the amount of $9,500.00, under the Equal Access to 22 Justice Act (EAJA),

28 U.S.C. § 2412

(d), and no costs under

28 U.S.C. § 1920

. This 23 amount represents compensation for all legal services rendered on behalf of Plaintiff by 24 counsel in connection with this civil action, in accordance with

28 U.S.C. §§ 2412

(d), 25 1920. 26 After the Court issues an order for EAJA fees to Plaintiff, the government will 27 consider the matter of Plaintiff’s assignment of EAJA fees to counsel. Pursuant to 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 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

42 U.S.C. § 406

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

21 Respectfully submitted, 22

23 Dated: June 13, 2025 Law Offices of Francesco Benavides 24 By: /s/ Francesco Benavides 25 FRANCESCO P. BENAVIDES 26 Attorney for Plaintiff

27 1

2 Dated: June 13, 2025 MICHELE BECKWITH 3 Acting United States Attorney 4 MATHEW W. PILE Associate General Counsel 5 Social Security Administration 6 By: Lisa Tillman* 7 LISA TILLMAN 8 Special Assistant U.S. Attorney 9 Attorneys for Defendant (*Permission to use electronic signature 10 obtained via email on June 13, 2025). 11

12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 [PROPOSED| ORDER 2 Based upon the parties’ Stipulation for the Award and Payment of Equal Access to Justice Act Fees and Expenses, IT IS ORDERED that fees and expenses in the

5 || amount of $9,500.00 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 8 ° DATE: June 20, 2025 CA Spe I 10 HON. CHI SOO KIM 11 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 12 || 5, cham.1382.24 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -4-

Reference

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