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7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 FRESNO DIVISION

10 MICHAEL ADAM WOOD, Case No. 1:25-cv-00628-KES-EPG

11 Plaintiff, STIPULATION FOR THE AWARD AND PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES AND 12 v. EXPENSES PURSUANT TO THE EQUAL 13 ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT; ORDER Frank Bisignano, COMMISIONER OF 14 SOCIAL SECURITY,

15 Defendant. 16 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties through their undersigned counsel, 17 subject to the approval of the Court, that Plaintiff be awarded attorney fees and expenses in the amount 18 of SEVEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED NINETY-EIGHT DOLLARS AND 62/100 ($7,598.62) 19 under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA),

(d). This amount represents 20 compensation for all legal services rendered on behalf of Plaintiff by counsel in connection with this civil action, in accordance with

, 2412(d). 21 After the Court issues an order for EAJA fees to Plaintiff, the government will consider the 22 matter of Plaintiff’s assignment of EAJA fees to counsel. Pursuant to Astrue v. Ratliff,

, 23 598,

,

(2010), the ability attorney to honor the assignment will depend 24 on whether the fees are subject to any offset allowed under the United States Department of the 25 Treasury’s Offset Program. After the order for EAJA fees is entered, the government will determine 26 whether they are subject to any offset. 27 Fees shall be made payable to Plaintiff, but if the Department of the Treasury determines that 1 and costs to be made directly to Plaintiff’s counsel, Francesco Benavides, pursuant to the assignment 2 executed by Plaintiff. 3 Payments may be made by electronic funds transfer (EFT) or by check. 4 This stipulation constitutes a compromise settlement of Plaintiff’s request for EAJA attorney 5 fees and does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of Defendant under the EAJA or otherwise. Payment of the agreed amount shall constitute a complete release from, and bar to, any and 6 all claims that Plaintiff and/or Francesco Benavides, including the Law Offices of Francesco 7 Benavides, may have relating to EAJA attorney fees in connection with this action. 8 This award is without prejudice to the rights of Francesco Benavides to seek Social Security 9 Act attorney fees under

(b), subject to the savings clause provisions of the EAJA 10 \\\ 11 \\\ 12 \\\ 13 \\\ 14

15 Respectfully submitted, 16

17 Dated: October 27, 2025 /s/ Francesco Benavides F RANCESCO P. BENAVIDES 18 Attorney for Plaintiff 19 Dated: October 27, 2025 ERIC GRANT 20 United States Attorney 21 MATHEW W. PILE Associate General Counsel 22 Office of Program Litigation Social Security Administration 23

24 By: Erin Jurrens* ERIN JURRENS 25 Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Attorneys for Defendant 26 (*Permission to use electronic signature

27 1 ORDER 2 Based upon the parties’ Stipulation for the Award and Payment of Equal Access to Justice Act 3 || Fees and Expenses (the “Stipulation”), 4 IT IS ORDERED that fees and expenses in the amount SEVEN THOUSAND FIVE 5 HUNDRED NINETY-EIGHT DOLLARS AND 62/100 ($7,598.62) as authorized by the Equal 6 Access to Justice Act (EAJA),

(d), be awarded subject to the terms of the Stipulation. 7 IT IS SO ORDERED. 8 g|| Dated: _ October 28, 2025 [le ey — UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -3-