Jacobs v. Colvin

107 F. Supp. 3d 494, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184074, 2014 WL 9867407
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedOctober 24, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 2:12cv508
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 107 F. Supp. 3d 494 (Jacobs v. Colvin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jacobs v. Colvin, 107 F. Supp. 3d 494, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184074, 2014 WL 9867407 (E.D. Va. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

HENRY COKE MORGAN, JR., Senior District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Milton Jacobs’ (“Claimant”) Motion for Attorney’s Fees (“Motion”) under the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412. Doc. 30. Carolyn Colvin (“Government” or “Commissioner”) is sued as the Defendant in this case in her official capacity as Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration.

I. BACKGROUND

Claimant filed an application for disability benefits on July 15, 2009, complaining of “severe impairments of obesity, migraines, chronic pain, bilateral osteoarthritis of the knees, hypertension, depression, hyperlipidemia and obstructive sleep apnea.” Complaint, Doc. 1 at ¶ 4 (hereinafter “Compl.”). After his application was denied twice, Claimant requested a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”). Id. at ¶¶ 4-5. After the hearing on May 17, 2011, the ALJ affirmed the denial of Claimant’s disability benefits. Id. Next, Claimant requested review by the Appeals Council of the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review of the Social Security Administration (“Appeals Council”). Id. at ¶ 6. On July 10, 2012, the [497]*497Appeals Council denied review of the decision. Id,

Jacobs timely filed the instant action for judicial review on September 18, 2012. On September 14, 2012, the case was designated to a United States Magistrate Judge. Doc. 7. In accordance with a court order issued by that Magistrate Judge on December 14, 2012, Claimant filed a motion for summary judgment on January 16, 2013, Doc. 9, and the Commissioner filed a cross-motion for summary judgment on February 13, 2013. Doc. 11. On July 25, 2013, the Magistrate Judge issued his Report and Recommendation (“R & R”), Doc. 16, recommending that the Court vacate the final decision of the Commissioner and remand the matter for further review. Doc. 16 at 1. The R & R based this decision on the Commissioner’s failure to adequately evaluate the Veterans Administration’s (“VA”) determination that Claimant was disabled. Id. This finding was considered especially important in light of the recent Fourth Circuit decision in Bird v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 699 F.3d 337 (4th Cir.2012). On August 6, 2013, the Commissioner timely filed her objections to the R & R. Doc. 17. Claimant filed his response on August 12, 2013. Doc. 18.

On October 22, 2013, this Court issued an Order adopting Magistrate Judge Miller’s R & R, denying the Commissioner’s Motion for Summary Judgment, and granting Claimant’s Motion for Summary Judgment. Doc. 20. The clerk’s judgment was entered on October 22, 2013. Doc. 21.

On December 20, 2013, the Commissioner filed notice of appeal. Doc. 22. The record was transmitted to the Fourth Circuit on January 23, 2014. Doe. 23. On March 25, 2014, the Fourth Circuit dismissed the appeal pursuant to Local Rule 42(b) based upon the parties stipulated motion for voluntary dismissal with prejudice. Doc. 26.

On June 19, 2014, the Claimant filed the instant Motion seeking attorney’s fees and expenses under EAJA. Doc. 31. The Commissioner responded in opposition on July 3, Doc. 32, and Claimant filed his untimely Reply on July 16, 2014.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A. Timeliness

An application for attorney’s fees under the EAJA must be filed “within thirty days of final judgment in the action.” 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B). A judgment becomes final, and thereby this thirty day period begins to run once the time for all parties to appeal has expired. Melkonyan v. Sullivan, 501 U.S. 89, 96, 111 S.Ct. 2157, 115 L.Ed.2d 78 (1991) (citing H.R.Rep. No. 99-120, p. 18 (1985)). Normally, this occurs ninety days after an order is issued by a court of appeals, when the parties’ right to petition the Supreme Court of the United States expires. See Sup.Ct. R. 13(1).

In the context of a voluntary dismissal, the right to appeal is “presumed unless disclaimed or specifically prohibited.” Kiddey v. Shinseki 22 Vet.App. 367, 371 (2009) (quoting Impresa Construzioni Geom. Domenico Garufi v. United States, 531 F.3d 1367, 1372 (Fed.Cir.2008));. see also Ohio Valley Envtl. Coal. v. Hurst, No. 3:03-2281, 2011 WL 3563295, at *4 (S.D.W.Va. Aug. 11, 2011). Therefore, even when the parties have voluntarily dismissed an appeal under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 42(b), the right to petition the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari survives, regardless of the likelihood that it will be granted. Id.

[498]*498B. Attorney’s Fees

Under the EAJA, a “prevailing party” is entitled to attorney’s fees and costs, unless the court finds that the Government’s position was substantially justified, or special circumstances make an award unjust. 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d); see also EEOC v. Clay Printing Co., 13 F.3d 813, 815 (4th Cir.1994). A plaintiff who wins remand is a prevailing party under the EAJA. Shalala v. Schaefer, 509 U.S. 292, 301, 113 S.Ct. 2625, 125 L.Ed.2d 239 (1993). The Government bears the burden of demonstrating that its position is substantially justified. Crawford v. Sullivan, 935 F.2d 655, 658 (4th Cir.1991) (citing Lively v. Bowen, 858 F.2d 177, 180 (4th Cir.1988)).

As the Fourth Circuit noted in Cody v. Caterisano, this inquiry is approached. holistically, and courts are to “look beyond the issue, on which the petitioner prevailed to determine, from the totality of the circumstances, whether the Government acted reasonably in causing the litigation or in taking a stance during the litigation.” 631 F.3d 136, 141 (4th Cir.2011) (quoting Roanoke River Basin Ass’n v. Hudson, 991 F.2d 132 (4th Cir.1993)). When assessing the justification of the Government’s position, the court considers “not what the law now is, but what the Government was substantially justified in believing it to have been.” Pierce v. Underwood, 487 U.S. 552, 561, 108 S.Ct. 2541, 101 L.Ed.2d 490 (1988): see also Norris v. S.E.C., 695 F.3d 1261

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Bluebook (online)
107 F. Supp. 3d 494, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184074, 2014 WL 9867407, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jacobs-v-colvin-vaed-2014.