Case Name in Social Security Case - Unavailable

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
JONATHAN L. GOOLSBY, 	)
)
Plaintiff, 	)
)
v. 	) 	Cause No. 4:20 CV 1488 RWS
)
FRANK J. BISIGNANO, 	)
Commissioner of Social Security, 	)
)
Defendant. 	)
ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s Petition for an Award of
Attorney’s Fees Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). On March 29, 2022, the case was
remanded to the Commissioner for further proceedings. On June 30, 2022, I
granted Plaintiff’s request for attorney’s fees after remand under the Equal Access
to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412. I awarded fees in the amount of
$4,290.56 which represented 20.9 hours of attorney work at $205.29 per hour.
On February 27, 2024, after this matter was remanded, the Social Security
Administration awarded Plaintiff Disability Insurance Benefits in the amount of
approximately $90,000 in retroactive benefits.
Plaintiff’s counsel Traci Severs seeks an additional award of attorney’s fees
under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) in the amount of $6,244 based on the award of benefits
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after remand. That fee reflects the attorney’s fees Severs incurred the first time
Plaintiff appealed the Commissioner’s denial of benefits in Cause No. 4:17 CV
2508 NAB. That case resulted in a remand to the Commissioner for further
consideration. The fees awarded to Plaintiff were seized by the United States
Department of Education to pay Plaintiff’s federal debt. As a result, there were no
awarded fees remaining to pay Severs for her successful representation in that
litigation.
Plaintiff’s present petition asserts that a total of 42.6 hours of attorney time
was incurred in her overall litigation with the Social Security Administration. This
time includes 20.9 hours incurred in the present lawsuit and 21.7 hours expended
in Cause No. 4:17 CV 2508 NAB (fees from that case were seized and never paid
to counsel). Plaintiff calculates the fee for the overall litigation is $10,534.56
which is a fee rate of $247.29 per hour. Plaintiff’s counsel was already awarded
$4,290.56 in fees for 20.9 hours expended in this case under the EAJA. Plaintiff
requests that Severs be awarded the balance of her total fee request, that is
$6,244.00, to fully compensate her for all the hours she spent on this litigation.
Based on Plaintiff’s assignment of fees, counsel could have sought fees up to
25% of $90,000 or $22,500. Severs only seeks total fees in the amount of
$10,534.56 for 42.6 hours of work in this litigation. This is a reasonable fee
request. Plaintiff’s request for an attorney’s fee award of $6,244.00 under 42
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U.S.C. § 406(b) will be granted.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Petition for an Award of
Attorney’s Fees Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) in the amount of $6,244.00 [37] is
GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall substitute
Frank J. Bisignano, the current Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration, as the Defendant in this matter.
_______________________________
RODNEY W. SIPPEL
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated this 4th day of November, 2025.
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