(SS)Ruiz v. Commissioner of Social Security, 1:23-cv-00826-CDB

Maria Dolores Ruiz filed a civil action against the Commissioner of Social Security and prevailed, leading to a voluntary remand for further proceedings.
On December 4, 2023, the Court ordered a voluntary remand to the Commissioner and entered judgment on the same day.
Ruiz requested attorney’s fees and costs as the prevailing party under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), and costs under 28 U.S.C. § 1920.
The parties stipulated to an attorney fee award of $12,500 and costs of $402; the government did not oppose the motion.
The Court found the attorney’s hours and rates reasonable, given the case’s complexity and volume of the administrative record (over 1,570 pages), and the favorable result obtained for Ruiz.
Payment is subject to any applicable offsets under the Treasury Offset Program, and if none, payment is directed to Ruiz’s counsel.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Entitlement to EAJA fees and costs	Ruiz qualifies as prevailing party; fees and costs are reasonable and timely sought	No opposition	Attorney’s fees and costs awarded
Government’s position justification	Non-justified position; case remanded	No opposition	Government not substantially justified
Reasonableness of attorney’s fees amount	Fee request reflects appropriate hours/rate	No opposition	Amount requested is reasonable
Application of Treasury Offset Program	Fees should go to counsel if not offset	No opposition	Subject to offset determination

Shalala v. Schaefer, 509 U.S. 292 (party is prevailing on sentence-four remand)
Thangaraja v. Gonzales, 428 F.3d 870 (Ninth Circuit maintains EAJA maximum hourly rates)