UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA FORT MYERS DIVISION

ANDREA METZ,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No.: 2:20-cv-966-KCD

COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY,

Defendant. / ORDER Having obtained an award of benefits, Andrea Metz’s attorney, Michael A. Steinberg, seeks attorney’s fees under

(b). (Doc. 32.) Defendant has not opposed the request. Section 406(b) provides that an attorney who obtains a benefits award on remand may petition for a reasonable fee—not to exceed twenty-five percent of the claimant’s past-due benefits—for work performed before the court. Here, Steinberg requests $13,768.98, which is 25 percent of past-due benefits. Steinberg further asserts that the previous EAJA award of $3,598.12 will be returned to Plaintiff. (Doc. 32 at 3); see Paltan v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec.,

(11th Cir. 2013) (noting that the attorney has the option of either refunding a prior EAJA award to the plaintiff directly or reducing the § 406(b) award by the same amount). For the reasons stated in Metz’s unopposed motion, the requested fee 1s both reasonable and appropriate under § 406(b). Accordingly, the unopposed fee motion (Doc. 32) is GRANTED. The clerk will enter judgment for Metz for $18,768.98 in attorney’s fees under

(b). ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on April 22, 2024.

LF ff fe yt 6. Haslet” * Keéle C. Dudek United States Magistrate Judge

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