1 Melissa Newel (CA SB#148563)

NEWEL LAW

2 2625 Alcatraz Ave., Suite 132 Berkeley, CA 94705 3 (510) 316-3827 4 mnewel@newellawfirm.com

5 Attorney for Plaintiff

BRET ANDEREW NACE

6

7 PHILLIP A. TALBERT United States Attorney 8 MATHEW W. PILE Associate General Counsel 9 Office of Program Litigation, Office 7 Social Security Administration 10

CASPAR CHAN (CA SB#294804)

11 Special Assistant United States Attorney 6401 Security Boulevard 12 Baltimore, Maryland 21235 (510) 970-4810 13 Caspar.Chan@ssa.gov

14 Attorneys for Defendant 15 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 16 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 17 18 BRETT ANDEREW NACE, No. 1:23-CV-00997 (SKO) 19 Plaintiff,

20 v. STIPULATION AND UNOPPOSED

MOTION FOR AWARD AND PAYMENT

21 MARTIN O’MALLEY1, OF ATTORNEYS FEES AND COSTS;

COMMISSIONER OF ORDER

22

SOCIAL SECURITY,

(Doc. 18) 23 Defendant.

24 25 26 27 1 Pursuant to Rule 25(d)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and 42 U.S.C. §405(g), Martin 28 O’Malley is hereby substituted as the named defendant in the above-captioned action. 1 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties, through their undersigned 2 attorneys, subject to the approval of the Court, that Brett Anderew Nace (Plaintiff) be awarded 3 attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. §2412 (d), in the amount 4 of eight thousand three hundred and seventy-eight dollars and twenty-four cents ($8,378.24). This 5 represents compensation for legal services rendered on behalf of Plaintiff by counsel in 6 connection with this civil action, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §2412 (d). In addition, pursuant to 7 28 U.S.C. §1920, Plaintiff shall be reimbursed for costs incurred in the amount of four hundred 8 and two dollars ($402.00). 9 After the Court issues an Order for EAJA fees to Plaintiff, the government will consider 10 the matter of Plaintiff’s assignment of EAJA fees to Plaintiff’s attorney. Pursuant to Astrue v. 11 Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586, 598 (2010), the ability to honor the assignment will depend on whether the 12 attorney fees are subject to any offset allowed under the United States Department of the 13 Treasury’s Offset Program. After the Order for EAJA fees is entered, the government will 14 determine whether they are subject to any offset. 15 Fees shall be made payable to Plaintiff, but if the Department of the Treasury determines 16 that Plaintiff does not owe a federal debt subject to offset, then the government shall cause the 17 payment of fees approved to be made payable to Melissa Newel or Newel Law (collectively 18 “Plaintiff’s counsel”), pursuant to the assignment executed by Plaintiff. Any and all payments 19 made shall be delivered to Plaintiff’s counsel via electronic transfer. 20 This stipulation constitutes a compromise settlement of Plaintiff’s request for EAJA 21 attorney fees and costs and does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of Defendant 22 under EAJA. Payment of the agreed amount shall constitute a complete release from, and bar to, 23 any and all claims that Plaintiff and/or Plaintiff’s counsel may have relating to EAJA attorney 24 fees and expenses in connection with this action. 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 1 This award is without prejudice to the rights of Plaintiff’s counsel to seek Social Security 2 Act attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. §406(b), subject to the provisions of the EAJA.

3 Respectfully submitted, 4 Dated: October 11, 2024 NEWEL LAW 5

6 By: Melissa Newel 7 Melissa Newel Attorney for Plaintiff 8 BRETT ANDEREW NACE

9 Dated: October 11, 2024 PHILLIP A. TALBERT 10 United States Attorney

MATHEW W. PILE

11 Associate General Counsel Office of Program Litigation, Office 7 12 Social Security Administration

13 By: Caspar Chan* 14 CASPAR CHAN (*Authorized by email dated 10/10/2024 15 Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Attorneys for Defendant 16

17

18 ORDER

19 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §2412, attorney fees in the amount of eight thousand three hundred 20 and seventy-eight dollars and twenty-four cents ($8,378.24) and costs, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1920, 21 in the amount of four hundred and two dollars ($402) shall be awarded to Plaintiff subject to the 22 terms of the Stipulation and Unopposed Motion (Doc. 18). 23

24 25 IT IS SO ORDERED.

26 Dated: October 15, 2024 /s/ Sheila K. Oberto . 27 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

28