UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TAMPA DIVISION

AJAYA JASMINE BLAKE,

Plaintiff, v. Case No. 8:25-cv-01006-MSS-AAS

FRANK BISIGNANO, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration,1

Defendant. ______________________________________/ REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Ajaya Jasmine Blake moves for attorney’s fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA),

. (Doc. 20). The Commissioner does not oppose the motion. (Doc. 20-4). Ms. Blake requests $8,557.30 in attorney’s fees, plus the filing cost of $405.00. The EAJA permits awards for reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to a prevailing party against the United States.

. A September 18, 2025 order remanded the Commissioner’s final decision under sentence four of

(g) for further administrative proceedings. (Doc.

1 Frank Bisignano became the Commissioner of Social Security on May 7, 2025. Under Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Mr. Bisignano should be substituted as the defendant in this suit.

1 17). The Clerk entered judgment in Ms. Blake’s favor. (Doc. 18). The Commissioner does not contest the following: Ms. Blake is the

prevailing party; Ms. Blake’s net worth was less than $2 million when she filed her complaint; the Commissioner’s position was not substantially justified; no special circumstances make an attorney’s fees award unjust; and Ms. Blake’s attorney’s fees request is reasonable. A court should grant a Social Security

claimant’s request for attorney’s fees when it is unopposed. See Jones v. Colvin, No. 8:13-CV-2900-T-33AEP,

(M.D. Fla. Nov. 30, 2015) (awarding unopposed attorney’s fees request). Thus, Ms. Blake is entitled to $8,557.30 in attorney’s fees, plus the filing cost of $405.00.

Attorney’s fees awarded to a claimant under the EAJA can be offset to satisfy the claimant’s pre-existing debt to the United States. Astrue v. Ratliff,

(2010). Following an order, the United States Department of the Treasury will determine whether Ms. Blake owes a debt to the United

States. Ms. Blake assigned her rights to EAJA fees to her attorney. (Doc. 20- 3). So, if Ms. Blake has no federal debt, the United States will accept her assignment of EAJA fees and pay the fees directly to counsel. Accordingly, it is RECOMMENDED that Ms. Blake’s motion for

attorney’s and costs fees under the EAJA (Doc. 20) be GRANTED. Ms. Blake should be awarded $8,557.30 in attorney’s fees, plus the filing cost of $405.00. 2 ENTERED in Tampa, Florida, on October 22, 2025.

Aranda. Arno Sasone_ AMANDA ARNOLD SANSONE United States Magistrate Judge

NOTICE TO PARTIES The parties have fourteen days from the date they are served a copy of this report to file written objections to this report’s proposed findings and recommendations or to seek an extension of the fourteen-day deadline to file written objections.

(b)(1); 11th Cir. R. 3-1. A party’s failure to object timely in accordance with

(b)(1) waives that party’s right to challenge on appeal the district court’s order adopting this report’s unobjected-to factual findings and legal conclusions. 11th Cir. R. 38-1.