Owcp

MEMORANDUM

Victor Nasser, solely for the benefit of his attorneys, Eric A. Dupree and Joshua T. Gillelan II, petitions for review of the Department of Labor Benefits Review Board’s decision affirming two' orders issued by the administrative law judge (“ALJ”), awarding attorneys’ fees and supplemental attorneys’ fees, respectively, to Nasser’s attorneys pursuant to the Long-shore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA”), 38 U.S.C. §§ 901-950 , as extended by the Defense Base Act (“DBA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 1651-1654 . The ALJ approved a settlement of the underlying claim and thereafter awarded fees to Nasser’s attorneys in an amount significantly less than requested. Nasser seeks review of the fees awarded to Dupree and Gillelan.

Nasser first argues that the Benefits Review Board (“BRB”) erred by affirming the ALJ’s use of an improper methodology for calculating fees. In particular, Nasser contends that the ALJ erred when he based his lawyers’ fee awards on past awards made by the BRB to LHWCA attorneys in other cases, which past awards were not themselves based on any evidence of prevailing market rates in the relevant community. Nasser contends that such methodology — long…