Balthazar v. Commissioner of Social Security

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 4 AT SEATTLE MICHAEL BALTHAZAR Plaintiff, Case No. 2:20-cv-01645-RSM vs. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, ORDER FOR EAJA ATTORNEY FEES, 9 COSTS AND EXPENSES 10 Defendant. ______________________________________ Based upon the Stipulation of the parties, the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 13 U.S.C. § 2412, and Plaintiff’s EAJA petition, it is hereby ordered that EAJA attorney’s fees of $6,542.63 shall be awarded to Plaintiff pursuant to Astrue v. Ratliff, 130 U.S. 2521 (2010). This award is based on 2.86 hours of attorney work in 2020 at a rate of $207.78 per hour, and 27.83 hours in 2021 at a rate of $213.74 per hour. No expenses or costs are awarded.

If the U.S. Department of Treasury verifies to the Office of General Counsel that Plaintiff does not owe a debt, the government will honor Plaintiff’s assignment of EAJA Fees pay EAJA fees directly to Plaintiff’s attorney, DEBRA J. VENHAUS at P.O. Box 12488, Mill Creek, WA.

DATED this 7th day of December, 2021.

22 A RICARDO S. MARTINEZ 24 CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

ORDER FOR EAJA FEES, COSTS AND EXPENSES Presented by: s/Debra J. Venhaus Debra J. Venhaus, WSBA 33458 Attorney for Plaintiff P.O. Box 12488, Mill Creek, WA 98082 Tel: 425-332-3150 Approved for Entry: s/Debra J. Venhaus (signed per authorization) Leisa A. Wolf Special Asst. U.S. Attorney Attorney for Defendant

11 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 12 I HEREBY CERTIFY that on December 2, 2021, I electronically filed the foregoing document with the Clerk of the Court using CM/ECF, which will send a notice of electronic filing to the following: Leisa A. Wolf 16 Special Asst. U.S. Attorney Fifth Ave., Suite 2900 M/S 221A 17 Seattle, WA 98104 s/Debra J. Venhaus ___ Debra J. Venhaus, WSBA 33458 Attorney for Plaintiff 20 P.O. Box 12488 Mill Creek, WA 98082 21 Tel: 425-332-3150; Fax: 425-332-3195 [email protected]

ORDER FOR EAJA FEES, COSTS AND EXPENSES