Anderson v. Commissioner of Social Security, 1:20-cv-10015

Plaintiff Leonard C. A. challenged the denial of his disability insurance benefits by the Commissioner of Social Security.
The case was initially remanded by stipulation for further proceedings before the Social Security Administration.
After a second unfavorable administrative decision, the Appeals Council reversed and awarded a fully favorable decision to the Plaintiff in September 2024.
Plaintiff’s attorney, Charles A. Robison, subsequently filed a motion seeking attorneys’ fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), totaling $27,772.25.
The Commissioner of Social Security did not oppose the motion for attorneys’ fees.
Magistrate Judge Anthony P. Patti recommended granting the motion, finding the requested fee reasonable and instructing counsel to refund a previously received $1,432.27 to Plaintiff.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Reasonableness of requested attorney's fees	Fee is reasonable under § 406(b)	No support or opposition stated	Fee request reasonable and granted
Refund of previously awarded fees	Will refund upon awarding	No position stated	Attorney must refund Plaintiff $1,432.27 after new fee disbursed
Adoption of Report and Recommendation (R&R)	R&R should be adopted	No objections to R&R	R&R adopted as no objection filed
Right to appeal after failure to object	(No stated position)	(No stated position)	Right to appeal forfeited due to no timely objections

Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140 (1985) (parties forfeit right to appeal factual findings if no objection is filed to magistrate’s report and recommendation)
Berkshire v. Dahl, 928 F.3d 520 (6th Cir. 2019) (enforcing forfeiture of appellate rights for failing to object to a report and recommendation)