(Download) "Johnson v. Sullivan" by United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Johnson v. Sullivan
- Author : United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- Release Date : January 23, 1990
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 60 KB
Description
HEANEY, Senior Circuit Judge Appellants, prevailing parties in actions brought against the Secretary of Health and Human Services challenging denials of Social Security disability benefits, made applications for awards of attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(EAJA). At issue in these consolidated appeals is whether the district court abused its discretion in denying appellants' counsel attorney's fees of more than $75 per hour to reflect an increase in the cost of living under 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(A)(ii). In each case, cost-of-living enhancements were denied because ""the legislative history of the enactment and subsequent reenactment of the EAJA legislation convinces the Court that an increase at this time based upon a cost of living adjustment is not warranted."" E.g., Johnson v. Sullivan, No. LA-C-88-172, slip op. at 2 (E.D. Ark. Oct. 11, 1989). The orders denying enhanced fees do not disclose precisely which portion of the EAJA's legislative history persuaded the district court that a cost-of-living adjustment was not warranted. Moreover, we believe that the EAJA's language and our prior cases make resort to legislative history unnecessary. The statute states: ""attorney fees shall not be awarded in excess of $75 per hour unless the court determines that an increase in the cost of living or a special factor . . . justifies a higher fee."" 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(A)(ii) (1988). We have interpreted this language to mean that ""the district court may, upon proper proof, increase the $75 per hour rate for attorney's fees to reflect the increase in the cost of living since October 1, 1981, the effective date of the EAJA as originally enacted."" Kelly v. Bowen, 862 F.2d 1333, 1336 (8th Cir. 1988).