Johnathan T. v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedJuly 2, 2026
Docket3:26-cv-00212
StatusUnknown

This text of Johnathan T. v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security (Johnathan T. v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnathan T. v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security, (S.D. Cal. 2026).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 Johnathan T., Case No.: 3:26-cv-00212-JO-JLB

12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT 13 v. MOTION FOR THE AWARD AND PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES 14 FRANK BISIGNANO, AND EXPENSES PURSUANT TO Commissioner of Social Security 15 THE EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE Defendant. ACT 16

17 [ECF No. 19]

18 Before the Court is the parties’ Joint Motion for the Award and Payment of Attorney 19 Fees and Expenses Pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”). (ECF No. 19.) 20 For the reasons set forth below, the Court GRANTS the parties’ Joint Motion. 21 I. BACKGROUND 22 On January 14, 2026, Plaintiff Johnathan T. (“Plaintiff”) filed a complaint pursuant 23 to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) seeking judicial review of the denial of his application for disability 24 insurance benefits and supplemental security income under the Social Security Act, Title 25 II and Title XVI, issued by the Commissioner of Social Security (the “Commissioner”). 26 (ECF No. 1.) On March 16, 2026, the Commissioner filed the administrative record. (ECF 27 Nos. 8, 9.) On May 27, 2026, the Court reversed the decision of the Commissioner and 28 1 remanded the matter for further administrative proceedings pursuant to sentence four of 42 2 U.S.C. § 405(g). (ECF No. 17.) The Clerk of Court promptly entered final judgment in 3 favor of Plaintiff. (ECF No. 18.) 4 On June 3, 2026, the parties filed the instant Joint Motion requesting the Court award 5 Plaintiff attorney’s fees and expenses in the amount of $9,200.00 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 6 § 2412(d) and no costs under 28 U.S.C. § 1920. (ECF. No 19 at 1.) The amount “represents 7 compensation for all legal services rendered on behalf of Plaintiff by counsel in connection 8 with this civil action.” (Id.) 9 II. THRESHOLD ISSUE OF TIMELINESS 10 The prevailing party is eligible to seek attorney’s fees within thirty (30) days of final 11 judgment in an action. 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B). “A sentence four remand becomes a 12 final judgment, for purposes of attorneys’ fees claims brought pursuant to the EAJA, upon 13 expiration of the time for appeal.” Akopyan v. Barnhart, 296 F.3d 852, 854 (9th Cir. 14 2002) (internal citation omitted) (citing Shalala v. Schaefer, 509 U.S. 292, 297 (1993)). 15 Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(1)(B), if one of the parties to the action is 16 a United States officer sued in an official capacity, the time for appeal expires sixty (60) 17 days after entry of judgment. Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B). Therefore, a motion for 18 attorney’s fees filed after a sentence four remand is timely when filed within thirty (30) 19 days after Rule 4(a)’s appeal period has expired. Hoa Hong Van v. Barnhart, 483 F.3d 20 600, 607 (9th Cir. 2007). 21 Even when the appeals period has not yet run, an application for EAJA attorney fees 22 is timely, as long as “. . . (1) the applicant files no more than 30 days after final judgment, 23 and (2) the applicant is able to show that he or she ‘is a prevailing party and is eligible to 24 receive an award under this subsection.’” Auke Bay Concerned Citizen’s Advisory Council 25 v. Marsh, 779 F.2d 1391, 1393 (9th Cir. 1986) (emphasis added) (quoting 28 U.S.C. 26 § 2412(d)(1)(B)). See also Schaefer, 509 U.S. at 302 (“An EAJA application may be filed 27 until 30 days after a judgment becomes ‘not appealable’ – i.e., 30 days after the time for 28 appeal has ended.”) (emphasis added). In Auke Bay, the Appellate Court clarified that an 1 application for EAJA fees filed before final judgment is nonetheless timely where “a court 2 order substantially grants the applicant’s remedy before final judgment is entered.” Auke 3 Bay, 779 F.2d at 1393. See also Sergio C. v. Kijkazi, No. 3:20-cv-02770-AHG, 2022 WL 4 1122847, at *2 (S.D. Cal. Apr. 14, 2022) (applying Auke Bay to conclude plaintiff’s EAJA 5 fee application in a Social Security case was not premature because the court remanded for 6 payment of benefits, notwithstanding the application being filed before the sixty (60) day 7 appeal period had run). 8 This Court entered judgment remanding the matter for additional administrative 9 proceedings on May 27, 2026. (ECF No. 17.) Judgement was entered on May 28, 2026. 10 (ECF No. 18.) On June 3, 2026, the parties filed the Joint Motion, five (5) days after 11 judgment was entered, and well before Rule 4(a)’s 60-day appeal timeline had expired. 12 (ECF No. 19). The judgment provided the substantial relief prayed for in Plaintiff’s 13 Complaint—remand to the Social Security Administration and Judgment for Plaintiff. 14 (ECF Nos. 1, 18.) Thus, before the judgment became final, the Court substantially granted 15 Plaintiff’s remedy. Accordingly, the Court finds the Joint Motion timely. 16 III. DISCUSSION 17 Under the EAJA, a litigant is entitled to attorney’s fees under the EAJA only if: 18 “(1) he is the prevailing party; (2) the government fails to show that its position was 19 substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust; and (3) the 20 requested fees and costs are reasonable.” Carbonell v. I.N.S., 429 F.3d 894, 898 (9th Cir. 21 2005) (citing Perez-Arellano v. Smith, 279 F.3d 791, 793 (9th Cir. 2002)); see also 28 22 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A). Additionally, the net worth of the prevailing party must “not 23 exceed $2,000,000 at the time the civil action was filed.” 26 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(B); see 24 also United States v. 88.88 Acres of Land, 907 F.2d 106, 107 (9th Cir. 1990). 25 The Court will address each of the requirements in turn. 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 1 A. Prevailing Party 2 Under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), “[a] plaintiff who obtains a sentence four remand,” even 3 when further administrative review is ordered, “is considered a prevailing party for 4 purposes of attorneys’ fees.” Akopyan, 296 F.3d at 854 (citing Schaefer, 509 U.S. at 301- 5 02). Here, the Court entered judgment in favor of Plaintiff, reversed the decision of the 6 Commissioner, and remanded the matter for further administrative proceedings. (ECF 7 Nos. 17, 18.) Therefore, Plaintiff is the prevailing party. 8 B. Substantial Justification 9 The Commissioner bears the burden to prove that his position, in both the underlying 10 administrative proceedings and in the subsequent litigation, was substantially justified 11 under 28 U.S.C. §

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Eastern Savings Bank, FSB v. LaFata
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Bluebook (online)
Johnathan T. v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnathan-t-v-frank-bisignano-commissioner-of-social-security-casd-2026.