Opinion
CASE NO. 20-60563-CIV-CANNON/Hunt
02-01-2021
CARLOS CRUZADO-RODRIGUES, Plaintiff, v. ANDREW M. SAUL, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant.
ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
THIS MATTER comes before the Court upon the Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Patrick M. Hunt (the "Report") [ECF No. 37], entered on January 14, 2021. In the Report, Judge Hunt recommends that the Court grant the Plaintiff's Unopposed Petition for Attorneys' Fees [ECF No. 35] (the "Petition") because the Plaintiff satisfied the four requirements to be entitled to an award of attorneys' fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d). Specifically, the Report recommends that the Court grant the Plaintiff's Petition for the following reasons: (1) the Plaintiff is considered a prevailing party in this case because the Court remanded this action under sentence four; (2) the Government did not oppose the Plaintiff's argument that the Government's position was not substantially justified; (3) the Plaintiff filed his petition for attorneys' fees in a timely manner; (4) the Plaintiff satisfied the net worth requirement because his motion to proceed in forma pauperis indicates he has zero income or assets; and (5) there are no special circumstances present in this case that would render an award of fees unjust. The Report also recommends that the Court grant the full amount of attorneys' fees sought by the Plaintiff, which is $5,990.25 for 29.4 billable hours. Magistrate Judge Hunt concluded that the hourly rate and total fee sought by the Plaintiff were warranted because they fell within the range of market rates for South Florida attorneys who represent Plaintiffs in similar actions.
The parties have not filed objections to the Report, and the time for filing objections has passed. The Court, having reviewed the Report, the Plaintiff's Unopposed Petition Attorneys' Fees [ECF No. 35], the record, applicable law, and being in full agreement with the recommendations of Judge Hunt, hereby ORDERS that Judge Hunt's Report [ECF No. 37] is ADOPTED in full:
1. Plaintiff's Unopposed Petition for Attorneys' Fees [ECF No. 35] is GRANTED.
2. Plaintiff is entitled to an award of attorneys' fees in the amount of $5,990.25.
3. The Clerk is directed to CLOSE this case and TERMINATE all motions.
DONE AND ORDERED in Fort Pierce, Florida, this 1st day of February 2021.
/s/ _________
AILEEN M. CANNON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE cc: counsel of record