Sidell T. PIRUS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Otis R. BOWEN, Secretary of HHS, Defendant-Appellant

Appellant Sidell Pirus brought a class action against the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, challenging the Secretary’s decision to deny social security benefits to her and the class she represented. After the district court granted Pirus’ motion for summary judgment, Pirus petitioned the court for attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412 (d) (Supp. Ill 1985). The district court granted Pirus’ petition, holding that the Secretary’s original decision to deny benefits to the class and then to defend that position through

litigation was not “substantially justified” within the meaning of the EAJA. The court also determined that “special factors” justified awarding fees in excess of the $75 per hour cap mandated by the Act. The government challenges both the award of attorney’s fees and the fee enhancement. We affirm the district court with respect to both issues.

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At age 63, after many years of marriage, Sidell Pirus was divorced from a wage earner covered by the Social Security Act. Four years later she remarried. Soon af-terwards, her former spouse died, and Pi-rus applied for benefits as the divorced wife of a…