Shapiro v. SSA, No. 19-000238, 2022 WL 951371 (D. Vt. Mar. 30, 2022) (Reiss, J.)

Shapiro v. SSA, No. 19-000238, 2022 WL 951371 (D. Vt. Mar. 30, 2022) (Reiss, J.)

Re:  Request for records from the U.S. Social Security Administration

Disposition:  Granting in part and denying in part plaintiff's motion for attorney fees' and costs

• Attorney Fees:  "Considering the nature, complexity, and desirability of the case; the skills required; the experience of counsel; awards in other cases in Vermont; and the court's own assessment of market rates in Vermont, the court holds that the reasonable hourly rates for Attorney Sherman and Attorney Joselson in this case are $185 and $270, respectively."  "Plaintiff requests fees for 108.95 hours, representing 104.60 hours billed by Attorney Sherman and 4.35 hours billed by Attorney Joselson."  "Plaintiff has explained how the hours were attributed to the various phases of this case—pleading (14.3 hours), summary judgment (50.75 hours), exemptions (26.8 hours), and attorneys' fees (17.1 hours)—but has not provided contemporaneous billing records or task-related expenditures."  "There is thus no way of discerning whether the hours expended were reasonable or are attributable to issues on which Plaintiff prevailed."  "Because no billing records were submitted and Plaintiff achieved only limited success, SSA asks that Plaintiff's requested fees be reduced between fifty and seventy percent."  "The court agrees with SSA that a reduction of fifty percent is required based upon Plaintiff's limited success and failure to achieve his ultimate objective in this suit—production of the responsive withheld records."  "Plaintiff was provided an opportunity to justify a higher award by identifying specific hours but waived it through noncompliance with the court's order."  "The reasonable number of hours is thus 54.475 hours, representing 52.3 hours for Attorney Sherman and 2.175 hours for Attorney Joselson."