Case Name in Social Security Case - Unavailable

RICHARD L. BOURGEOIS, JR.
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
BETHANY STEPHENS CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY NO. 24-579-JWD-RLB
NOTICE
Please take notice that the attached Magistrate Judge’s Report has been filed with the
Clerk of the United States District Court.
In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1), you have fourteen (14) days after being served
with the attached Report to file written objections to the proposed findings of fact, conclusions of
law, and recommendations therein. Failure to file written objections to the proposed findings,
conclusions, and recommendations within fourteen (14) days after being served will bar you,
except upon grounds of plain error, from attacking on appeal the unobjected-to proposed factual
findings and legal conclusions of the Magistrate Judge that are accepted by the District Court.
ABSOLUTELY NO EXTENSION OF TIME SHALL BE GRANTED TO FILE
WRITTEN OBJECTIONS TO THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S REPORT.
Signed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on December 4, 2025.
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
BETHANY STEPHENS CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY NO. 24-579-JWD-RLB
MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Before the Court is a Motion for Attorney Fees and Costs under the Equal Access to
Justice Act (“EAJA”) (the “Motion”) filed by Bethany Stephens (“Plaintiff”). (R. Doc. 21). Also
before the Court is Plaintiff’s exhibit correction regarding her attorney’s hours. (R. Doc. 22). The
Commissioner filed a Response indicating no objection to the hours, the hourly rate, or the total
amount requested, but opposes any request that the fee award be payable directly to Plaintiff’s
attorney. (R. Doc. 24).
I. Procedural History
On July 18, 2024, Plaintiff filed a Complaint in this case, appealing a final administrative
decision that denied Plaintiff’s social security claim. (R. Doc. 1). On July 29, 2025, this Court
entered a Report and Recommendation, which was accepted by the district judge, recommending
the remand of the case for further administrative proceedings. (R. Docs. 17; 18). The case was
remanded on August 14, 2025. (R. Doc. 19). In the instant Motion, Plaintiff seeks an attorney
fees award of $5,760.00 for 30.3 attorney hours at the hourly rate of $175.00 and for 6.1
paralegal hours at $75.00.
The Commissioner filed a Response indicating no objection to the hours, the hourly rate,
or the total amount requested, but opposes any request that the fee award be payable directly to
Plaintiff’s attorney. (R. Doc. 24).
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II. Law and Analysis
The EAJA provides that a court shall award attorney fees and costs to a prevailing party
in a civil action brought against the United States. See 28 U.S.C. § 2412. Attorney fees shall be
awarded to a prevailing party “unless the Court finds that the position of the United States was
substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust.” 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)
(1)(A). No party disputes that Plaintiff is the prevailing party and is entitled to an award of fees
under the EAJA, nor does any party dispute the number of hours for which Plaintiff is claiming
compensation or the hourly rate sought.
The Court has reviewed the time accounting documents submitted in support and agrees
that 30.3 hours of attorney time is a reasonable amount of time and $175.00 is a reasonable
hourly rate. (R. Docs. 22-1; 22-2; 22-3); see Gann v. Colvin, No. 14-189, 2017 WL 385038, at
*3 (M.D. La. Jan. 1, 2017) (approved hourly attorney rate of up to $175.00 per hour); see also
Rhodus v. Berryhill, No. 17-545, 2019 WL 2897692 (M.D. La. July 5, 2019) (same); see also
Richthofen v. Berryhill, No. CV 16-16020, 2019 WL 2079840, at *1 (E.D. La. Jan. 28, 2019),
report and recommendation adopted, No. CV 16-16020, 2019 WL 2076588 (E.D. La. May 10,
2019) (collecting cases) (“[I]n recent years, courts in this district have regularly awarded attorney
fees in Social Security appeals at an hourly rate of $175.”); see also Darby v. Saul, No. 1:17-CV-
00032-C, 2019 WL 6791009, at *6 (N.D. Tex. Nov. 27, 2019), report and recommendation
adopted sub nom. Kimberly Kathryn D. v. Saul, No. 1:17-CV-032-C-BU, 2019 WL 6790397
(N.D. Tex. Dec. 12, 2019) (notes 30 to 40 hours is typical hour range for non-complex social
security appeals); see also Johnson v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., No. CV 22-180-SDJ, 2024 WL
1156529, at *2 (M.D. La. Mar. 18, 2024) (“The Court has reviewed the time/cost accounting
documents submitted in support of the Motion and agrees that 30.3 hours of attorney time and
6.4 hours of paralegal time are reasonable amounts of time[.]”); see also Mesecher v. Berryhill,
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RICHARD L. BOURGEOIS, JR.
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
No. 4:15-CV-0859-BL, 2017 WL 4417682, at *2 (N.D. Tex. Oct. 3, 2017) (quotations and
citations omitted) (“typical fee [claim is] between thirty and forty hours for attorney work”).
This Court thus finds fees and costs may be awarded to Plaintiff. The fees are to be paid
directly to Plaintiff although she assigned her award to her attorney. (R. Doc. 21-5); see Astrue v.
Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586, 589 (2010) (“§ 2412(d) fees award is payable to the litigant” not to their
attorney.); see also Craig v. Colvin, No. CV 15-583-JJB-EWD, 2016 WL 4689044, at *3 (M.D.
La. Sept. 6, 2016) (“§ 2412(d) fees award can only be paid to a litigant and not to the litigant’s
attorney even when a plaintiff assigns his EAJA award to the attorney.”); see also Morris v.
Colvin, No. CIV.A. 13-66-SCR, 2014 WL 2600076, at *1 (M.D. La. June 10, 2014) (despite
reviewing a plaintiff’s “affidavit, in which he also purport[ed] to assign his fee recovery to his
attorney, and an affidavit from his attorney itemizing the time spent on the case[,]”court noted
EAJA fee awards must be awarded to plaintiff). The award may be mailed to her counsel.
III. Conclusion
Based on the foregoing,
IT IS RECOMMENDED that the Motion (R. Doc. 21) be GRANTED and that the
Commissioner be ordered to (i) make a check payable to “Bethany Stephens” for attorney fees in
the amount of $5,760.00, (ii) mail such to Edward A. Wicklund, at Olinsky Law Group, 250
South Clinton, Suite 210, Syracuse, New York 13202, (iii) determine whether Plaintiff owes
qualifying, pre-existing debt(s) to the Government, and (iv) reduce the awarded attorney fees to
the extent necessary to satisfy such debt(s).
Signed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on December 4, 2025.
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