Thomas FLORES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Donna E. SHALALA, Secretary, Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee

Plaintiff-appellant Thomas Flores appeals the district court’s denial of his motion for attorney’s fees, costs and expenses pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412 (d), in his action against the Secretary of Health and Human Services (“the Secretary”). Flores contends that he is entitled to the attorney’s fees, costs and expenses incurred in challenging the denial of his application for disability benefits in the district court, and in pursuing benefits at the administrative level after the district court remanded his case to the Secretary. We reverse the district court’s order denying attorney’s fees for the litigation in the district court, because the Secretary’s position on the procedural issues that led to remand was not substantially justified. We also conclude that Flores is entitled to attorney’s fees for expenses incurred during the post-remand administrative proceedings.

I.

Determining whether Flores is entitled to attorney’s fees requires us to retrace the tortured procedural history of this case. This history spans several years and includes two administrative hearings, each of which was followed by a challenge to the ALJ’s decision in…