(SS) Johnson v. Commissioner of Social Security

I. INTRODUCTION

16 17 On September 23, 2020, Jonathan Omar Pena (“Counsel”), counsel for Plaintiff Donna 18 Johnson (“Plaintiff”), filed a motion for an award of attorney’s fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) 19 (“section 406(b)”). (Doc. 21.) On September 24, 2020, the Court issued a minute order requiring 20 Plaintiff and the Commissioner to file their responses in opposition or statements of non- 21 opposition to Counsel’s motion, if any, by no later than October 16, 2020. (Doc. 22.) Plaintiff 22 and the Commissioner were served with copies of the motion for attorney’s fees and the minute 23 order. (Docs. 21, 23.) On October 16, 2020, the Commissioner timely filed a response, 24 acknowledging that he was not a party to the contingent-fee agreement between Plaintiff and 25 Counsel and therefore “not in a position to either assent or object to the § 406(b) fees that Counsel 26 1 On June 17, 2019, Andrew Saul became the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. See 27 https://www.ssa.gov/agency/commissioner.html (last visited by the court on August 26, 2019). He is therefore substituted as the defendant…