Culbertsonv.Berryhill
Richard Culbertson represented a Social Security claimant before the agency and in federal court. After the claimant obtained past-due benefits, the agency awarded Culbertson fees for the administrative work, and he sought a separate fee award for the court proceedings under the governing federal statute. The Eleventh Circuit treated the statute’s 25-percent limit as a cap on the combined agency and court fees. The Supreme Court reversed. The agency-fee provision governs representation before the Social Security Administration, while the court-fee provision governs representation before a court. The phrase “such representation” in the court provision refers to the court representation described there, so its 25-percent cap applies only to the court-stage fee. The statute uses different methods for calculating agency and court fees and does not impose the court-stage cap on agency fees. The fact that the agency commonly withholds one 25-percent pool for direct payment does not change the statutory structure, which authorizes separate withholding mechanisms. The Court remanded for a fee determination under the correct interpretation.
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