Donald Johnson v. Michael Astrue

MEMORANDUM

The district court granted Plaintiff-Appellant Donald C. Johnson’s (“Johnson”) application for attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412 (d). Defendant-Appellee the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (“Commissioner”) appeals, arguing that the district court abused its discretion in concluding that the Commissioner’s litigation position was not substantially justified. Because the history and facts of this case are familiar to the parties, we recount them only to the extent necessary to explain our decision. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we reverse and remand.

The EAJA permits an award of fees to a prevailing party in a civil action against the United States “unless the court finds that the position of the United States was substantially justified.” 28 U.S.C. § 2412 (d)(1)(A). “The Commissioner is substantially justified if his position met the traditional reasonableness standard— that is justified in substance or in the main, or to a degree that could satisfy a reasonable person.” Lewis v. Barnhart, 281 F.3d 1081, 1083 (9th Cir.2002) (internal quotation marks omitted). In appraising…