IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA

LAWRENCE LIGGETT, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Case No. CIV-15-1081-D ) ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner ) of Social Security Administration, ) ) Defendant. )

ORDER AWARDING ATTORNEY FEE Before the Court is the Motion for Attorney Fees Under

(b) [Doc. No. 34], filed by Plaintiff’s attorney. Miles L. Mitzner seeks approval of a fee award in the amount of $29,395.38, to be paid out of Plaintiff’s award of past-due benefits in accordance with a 25-percent contingency fee agreement between him and Plaintiff. Defendant has made a timely response [Doc. No. 35]. The Commissioner takes no position regarding the Motion, but reminds the Court of its obligation to determine a reasonable attorney fee and Mr. Mitzner’s obligation to refund to Plaintiff the lesser of any § 406(b) award or the amount previously awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). Upon consideration of the Motion in light of Gisbrecht v. Barnhart,

(2002), and Wrenn v. Astrue,

(10th Cir. 2008), the Court finds that Plaintiff’s attorney may recover a reasonable fee for the representation of Plaintiff in this case up to the statutory limit of 25% of past-due benefits, provided the attorney refunds the lesser EAJA fee award. See Weakley v. Bowen,

(10th Cir. 1986); see also Order Awarding Att’y Fees [Doc. No. 31]. The supporting documents with the Motion, as well as the case record, show a total of 46.25 hours of legal services performed for Plaintiff’s representation in this case (30.9 attorney hours and 15.35 paralegal hours), which resulted in a favorable judicial decision. After remand, Plaintiff was determined to

be entitled to benefits and was awarded a past-due amount of $117,851.50. The Motion has been timely filed within the deadline previously set by the Court. See 9/11/19 Order [Doc. No. 33]. Under the circumstances presented, the Court finds that the requested amount of $29,395.38 represents an unreasonable fee award for the work done by Plaintiff’s attorney

in this case, taking into account the contingent-fee agreement and other pertinent factors. See Gisbrecht,

. The amount does not exceed 25% of Plaintiff’s award of benefits obtained by reason of the judgment entered June 30, 2016, but it represents a windfall for Plaintiff’s attorney and exceeds the amount needed to account for the contingency nature of the representation and the delay in receiving payment. The Court

finds that $21,216.25 represents a reasonable fee award under § 406(b).1 IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Motion for Attorney Fees Under

(b) [Doc. No. 34] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, as set forth herein. The Court approves an award of attorney fees under

(b) to be paid by Defendant to attorney Miles L. Mitzner in the amount of $21,216.25. Upon payment of this amount,

1 This amount represents a reasonable hourly rate for the attorney ($220) multiplied by the number of attorney hours (30.9) and a multiplier of 2.5 for an attorney total of $16,995.00, and a reasonable hourly rate for the paralegal ($110) multiplied by the number of paralegal hours (15.35) and a multiplier of 2.5 for a paralegal total of $4,221.25. Plaintiffs attorney shall promptly refund to Plaintiff Lawrence Liggett the amount of the previous EAJA fee award of $7,559.50. IT IS SO ORDERED this 11" day of October 2019.

Nd Q.Oyht TIMOTHY D. DeGIUSTI Chief United States District Judge