FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
MAR 09 2018
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
RONALD A. WELCH, No. 16-56544
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 5:11-cv-00740-DFM
v.
MEMORANDUM*
BILL LATOUR, Esquire,
Real-party-in-interest-
Appellee,
and
NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting
Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
Douglas F. McCormick, Magistrate Judge, Presiding
Submitted March 7, 2018**
Pasadena, California
Before: GRABER, W. FLETCHER, and OWENS, Circuit Judges.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes that this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Plaintiff Ronald Welch timely appeals the district court’s order awarding
attorney fees to real-party-in-interest Bill LaTour, Plaintiff’s lawyer in an
underlying Social Security benefits case. We vacate the judgment and remand.
The district court correctly identified the legal standard for determining the
amount of fees to award under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) for representing a Social
Security claimant in court: The district court must conclude that the fees granted
are reasonable under the standards set forth in Gisbrecht v. Barnhart, 535 U.S. 789
(2002), and in Crawford v. Astrue, 586 F.3d 1142 (9th Cir. 2009) (en banc). But
the district court did not comply with Crawford’s requirement that the court
"provide a concise but clear explanation of its reasons for the fee award." 586 F.3d
at 1152 (internal quotation marks omitted).
A clear explanation is particularly important here, in light of the unusual
circumstances of this case. Counsel misplaced Plaintiff’s case file, which may
have affected the duration of the case. Moreover, counsel worked
disproportionally few hours compared to the large fee awarded. On remand, the
district court shall enunciate how those and other relevant circumstances affect the
calculation of a reasonable fee.
VACATED and REMANDED. The parties shall bear their own costs on
appeal.
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