(Download) "Wiegand v. Sullivan" by United States Court Of Appeals For The Sixth Circuit ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Wiegand v. Sullivan
- Author : United States Court Of Appeals For The Sixth Circuit
- Release Date : January 23, 1990
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 51 KB
Description
BEFORE: KEITH and KRUPANSKY, Circuit Judges; and TAYLOR, District Judge.* Per Curiam. This is an appeal by attorney John A. Cervay (Cervay) from the district court's order reducing attorney fees
claimed after Cervay successfully represented a claimant, Gary Wiegand (Wiegand), in a social security disability benefits
case. Wiegand had retained Cervay's services pursuant to a twenty-five percent contingent fee contract. The past-due benefits
awarded to Wiegand and his dependents amounted to $59,827.80 and Cervay requested a fee of $14,803.95 which was supported
by time records indicating 87.75 hours of legal services performed at $168.69 per hour. The district court initially disallowed
$1,518.21 attributable to 9 hours of dictation, typing and other incidental secretarial services which the court characterized
as "secretarial services which are part of the operating overhead of any law office." Wiegand v. Secretary of Health and Human
Services, 710 F.Supp. 1153, 1154 (S.D. Ohio 1989). The district court, without filing proper findings of fact or conclusions
of law, generalized in a conclusory manner that the fee requested by Cervay constituted a "windfall" in that the computed
hourly rate of $168.69 was excessive, because "a reasonable hourly rate for activities in a social security matter is $125.00
per hour." Wiegand, 710 F.Supp. at 1155. The district court consequently awarded Cervay $9,5593.75.
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