1 John Metsker, Esq., CA SBN 268977 THE METSKER LAW FIRM 2 P.O. Box 590881 3 San Francisco, CA 94159 Phone: 866-342-6180 4 [email protected] 5 Attorney for Plaintiff, Admitted Pro Hac Vice

6 Tiffany Gayle Doctors, Esq., NV SBN 14363 7 411 E. Bonneville Ave., Suite 410 Las Vegas, NV 89101 8 Phone: 702-382-2030 9 [email protected] Designated Resident Counsel for Plaintiff 10

11 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 12 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 13

14 VALERY D. HUGINS, Case No. 2:24-cv-00734-MDC 15 Plaintiff, 16 AMENDED STIPULATION AND v. [PROPOSED] ORDER FOR THE 17 AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, PURSUANT TO THE EQUAL 18 ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT, 28 U.S.C. Defendant. § 2412(d) 19

20

21 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties through their 22 undersigned counsel, subject to the approval of the Court, that Plaintiff be awarded 23 attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA),

(d), 24 in the amount of FOUR THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY THREE 25 DOLLARS AND NO CENTS ($4,183.00) and no costs or expenses under 28

. These amounts represent compensation for all legal services 27 rendered and costs incurred on behalf of Plaintiff, to date, by counsel in connection 28 1 with this civil action, in accordance with

(d) and 1920. 2 As evidenced by the attached itemized statement of attorney time, this 3 stipulation represents compensation for 17.1 hours of attorney time compensated at 4 an inflation-adjusted EAJA rate of $244.62 per hour. See 5 https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/attorneys/statutory-maximum-rates/ (calculating 6 inflation-adjusted EAJA rates by year). The parties mutually agree that the 7 stipulated fees represent a reasonable amount of compensation for work performed 8 by the plaintiff’s attorney in this matter. 9 After the Court issues an order for EAJA fees to Plaintiff, the government 10 will consider the matter of Plaintiff’s assignment of EAJA fees and expenses to 11 Plaintiff's attorney. Pursuant to Astrue v. Ratliff,

(2010), the ability to 12 honor the assignment will depend on whether the fees, expenses are subject to any 13 offset allowed under the United States Department of the Treasury’s Offset 14 Program. After the order for EAJA fees and expenses is entered, the government 15 will determine whether they are subject to any offset. 16 Fees and expenses shall be made payable to Plaintiff, but if the Department 17 of the Treasury determines that Plaintiff does not owe a federal debt, then the 18 government shall cause the payment of fees to be made directly to John D. Metsker, 19 pursuant to the assignment executed by Plaintiff. Any payments made shall be 20 delivered to Plaintiff’s counsel. 21 This stipulation constitutes a compromise settlement of Plaintiff's request for 22 EAJA attorney fees and expenses, and does not constitute an admission of liability 23 on the part of Defendant under the EAJA. Payment of the agreed amount shall 24 constitute a complete release from, and bar to, any and all claims that Plaintiff 25 and/or Plaintiff's counsel may have relating to EAJA attorney fees, costs and 26 expenses in connection with this action. 27 This award is without prejudice to the rights of Plaintiff's counsel to seek 28 Social Security Act attorney fees under

, subject to the offset 1 provisions of the EAJA. 2 In accordance with Supreme Court’s stated preference for stipulated 3 outcomes in fee shifting cases, the undersigned counsel for the parties respectfully 4 request that the stipulated amount be approved as a reasonable fee in this matter. 5 Hensley v. Eckerhart,

(1983) (“A request for attorney's fees 6 should not result in a second major litigation. Ideally, of course, litigants will settle 7 the amount of a fee.”) 8 9 Respectfully submitted, 10 Dated: December 12, 2024 /s/ John David Metsker 11 JOHN DAVID METSKER 12 Attorney for Plaintiff 13 14 Dated: December 12, 2024 /s/ Michael J. Mullen* 15 MICHAEL J. MULLEN 16 *As authorized via email on December 12, 2024 17 Special Assistant United States Attorney 18 Attorney for Defendant 19 20 ORDER : The Court finds the stipulated fees are reasonable per 28 USC 21 2412(b) and therefore, the Stipulation is GRANTED. Pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, IT IS SO ORDERED. 22 23 24 DATE: 12-16- 24 ________________________________ MAXIMILIANO D. COUVILLIER, III 25 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 26 27 28 1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 2

3 I, the undersigned, am a citizen of the United States and am at least eighteen years of age. My business address is P.O. Box 590881, San Francisco, CA 4 94159. I am not a party to the above-entitled action. On the date set forth below, 5 I caused service of AMENDED STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER FOR THE AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES PURSUANT TO THE EQUAL 6 ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT,

(d) upon the following individuals 7 via CM/ECF:

8 Blaine T Welsh [email protected], [email protected], 9 [email protected], [email protected], 10 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], 11 [email protected], [email protected] 12 Tiffany Gayle Doctors [email protected] 13 14 Michael James Mullen [email protected], [email protected]

15 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. 16 Dated: December 12, 2024. 17 18 /s/ John David Metsker JOHN DAVID METSKER 19 Attorney for Plaintiff 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28