Young v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec.

Gerald E. Rosen

In a Report and Recommendation ("R & R") issued on June 27, 2012, Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen has recommended that the Court grant a petition filed by counsel for Plaintiff Karen Young seeking approval of an award of attorney fees in the amount of $25,000.00. No objections have been filed to the R & R. Having reviewed the R & R, the underlying petition filed by Plaintiff's counsel, and the remainder of the record, the Court fully concurs in the reasoning and findings of the Magistrate Judge, and adopts the R & R in its entirety. Accordingly,

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Magistrate Judge's June 27, 2012 Report and Recommendation (docket #39) is ADOPTED as the opinion of this Court. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, for the reasons stated in the R & R, the December 6, 2011 petition filed by Plaintiff's counsel seeking approval of attorney fees in the amount of $25,000.00 (docket #33) is GRANTED.

In light of this ruling, IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff's counsel shall be awarded the sum of $25,000.00 in attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b), with a credit given to Plaintiff in the amount of $4,000.00 for fees previously paid to her counsel under the Equal Access to Justice Act. Finally, IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the resulting net fee award of $21,000.00 shall be paid to Plaintiff's counsel from the $70,297.50 that the Defendant Commissioner of Social Security has withheld from Plaintiff's award of past due benefits, with the balance of $49,297.50 being paid to Plaintiff Karen Young.

SO ORDERED.

Gerald E. Rosen

Chief Judge, United States District Court
I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon counsel of record on September 4, 2012, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.

Shawntel R. Jackson for Ruth A. Gunther

Case Manager