EAJA Fees

Senior Judge Arthur Spatt awarded $10,868.60 in fees today under the Equal Access to Justice Act ("EAJA") due to Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") Iris Rothman's unjustifiable conduct. ALJ Rothman denied the claimant's application for Social Security Disability ("SSD") benefits twice. Each time the Court and Appeals Council rejected ALJ Rothman's decision.

At the claimant's third hearing, ALJ Seymour Rayner approved the claimant's SSD application. I then asked Judge Spatt to award attorney fees under EAJA. The SSA argued that I was not entitled to attorney fees following ALJ Rothman's second hearing because ALJ Rayner had considered new evidence.

Judge Spatt rejected the SSA's argument, holding that just because ALJ Rayner considered new evidence did not mean that ALJ Rothman's conduct at the second hearing was reasonable. To the contrary, Judge Spatt ruled that ALJ Rothman acted unreasonably in refusing to consider a new report containing the opinion of the claimant's treating doctor, which was necessitated after ALJ Rothman had lost the report containing the doctor's original opinion.