(SS) Breedlove-O'Neal II v. Commissioner of Social Security, 2:24-cv-00398

Plaintiff, Jersey Breedlove-O'Neal II, brought a civil action against the Commissioner of Social Security in the Eastern District of California.
Plaintiff requested attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), after prevailing in the underlying Social Security dispute.
The parties agreed to settle the issue of attorney fees without admission of liability by the government.
Pursuant to the agreement, the government will pay $8,500 in attorney fees, mostly subject to Treasury Offset Program checks for any applicable offsets for federal debts.
Payment will be directed to Plaintiff’s counsel if it is determined Plaintiff owes no federal debt; otherwise, payment will go to Plaintiff.
The order is without prejudice to counsel’s right to seek additional fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) if warranted.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Entitlement to EAJA attorney fees	Fees warranted for services	No admission of liability;	Fees of $8,500 awarded under
	rendered in this civil case	settlement for compromise	EAJA by stipulation.
Payment direction of attorney fees	Assigned to counsel if no	Must follow Treasury offset	Payable to Plaintiff,
	federal debt is owed	rules, subject to assignment	or directly to counsel if no
		by Plaintiff	offset is warranted.
Release of further EAJA fee claims	Complete release for EAJA	Settlement is compromise,	Award is full settlement and
	fees with this award	not an admission of liability	release of EAJA fee claims.
Counsel's right to seek additional	Preserve future claims for	Acknowledges possible right	Without prejudice to later
Social Security Act fees	fees under 406(b)	to seek 406(b) fees	motion for 406(b) fees.

Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586 (2010) (EAJA fee awards are payable to the prevailing litigant, not their attorney, and may be subject to administrative offset for debts owed to the federal government)