MAALOUF
v.
SAUL
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Plaintiff Angela Marie Maalouf sought court approval for attorney's fees under a contingency agreement in a Social Security disability benefits case. The district court granted the motion, awarding $49,642.86 in fees despite the high hourly rate, based on the stellar results obtained and relevant statutory factors.
The court granted the attorney's fee motion, finding the $49,642.86 award reasonable despite appearing to be a windfall on a per-hour basis. The court held that while a windfall cannot be considered in isolation, it must be evaluated against all relevant statutory factors including the significance of the result, counsel's expertise, risk of loss, and the importance of encouraging contingency representation in Social Security cases.
[1] A court must consider multiple factors when evaluating a motion for attorney's fees under § 406(b), including whether the award represents a windfall, the source of couns…
[2] An attorney's success in a Social Security benefits case may be attributed to their own work, even when facing a high risk of loss due to the client's prior unsuccessful…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMaalouf applied for Social Security disability benefits in November 2014 and lost at all levels of administrative review over a five-year period befor…
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In evaluating a motion for fees under § 406(b), a court must take into account a number of factors: whether the award represents a windfall to counsel; whether counsel's “success is attributable to his own work or instead to some unearned advantage”; counsel's “degree of expertise and adequacy of representation”; “the percentage of back benefits sought"; counsel's “risk of loss"; "the agreement made by the parties”; the “overall complexity of the case”; and "the significance of the result achieved.” Gossett v. Soc. Sec. Admin., Comm’r, 812 F. App'x 847, 850–51 (11th Cir. 2020) (cleaned up). Based on the Court's evaluation of these factors and the particular circumstances of this case, the Court approves the award.
First, the Court notes, importantly, neither the Commissioner nor Maalouf, oppose the motion. And, importantly, the Commissioner joined in counsel's supplemental memorandum which clearly and thoughtfully justified the award.
Next, it is undisputed that counsel's success in this case is attributable to her own work and not to some unearned advantage. In fact, as counsel points out, she was at a disadvantage in this case, facing a great risk of loss, considering she was not retained until after her client had already lost at all levels of administrative review and had been unsuccessfully seeking benefits for over five years, first applying for benefits in November 2014. (See Jt. Supp. at 7.) Further, counsel has over forty years of social-security disability representation, is a partner in Bohr & Harringron, LLC, has written briefs for filing in just about every federal district across the country, and has even successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court. (Id. at 12.) Finally, there is no dispute that counsel and Maalouf entered into a valid contingency-fee agreement.
Accordingly, despite the apparent windfall to counsel, in the amount of $49,642.86, for the eighteen hours she spent working on this case, the Court nonetheless finds the award reasonable in light of its consideration of the record and its evaluation of the relevant factors. See Gossett, 812 F. App'x at 850 (noting that whether an award represents a windfall cannot be considered in isolation from all the other relevant factors and circumstances of a case); Rodriguez v. Colvin, 318 F. Supp. 3d 653, 658 (S.D.N.Y. 2018) (“[A] reduction in the agreedupon contingency amount should not be made lightly, particularly given the importance of encouraging attorneys to accept social security cases on a contingency basis.”)(cleaned up); Daniel E. W. v. Berryhill, 5:17-CV-0271 (DEP), 2019 WL 1986538, at *5 (N.D.N.Y. May 6, 2019) (“Allowing for such arrangements that. result in recovery of fees at effective rates higher than ordinarily sanctioned in fee-shifting cases, serves an important purpose of encouraging lawyers to agree to represent Social Security claimants, many of whom are of limited resources.").
Accordingly, the Court grants counsel's motion (ECF No. 28), awarding her $49,642.86 in attorney's fees.
Done and ordered at Miami, Florida on March 8, 2024.
Robert N. Scola, Jr. United States District Judge