Riddle v. Secretary of Health and Human Services

• Decision Date: 09 July 1987
• Docket Number: No. 86-5228,86-5228
• Parties: , 17 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 734, Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 17,366 Samuel RIDDLE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 1238

817 F.2d 1238

55 USLW 2636, 17 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 734,

Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 17,366

Samuel RIDDLE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 86-5228.

United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

Submitted Dec. 8, 1986.

Decided May 1, 1987.

Rehearing En Banc Granted and Opinion Vacated July 9, 1987.^*

Stuart E. Warren, Western Kentucky Legal Services, Owensboro, Ky., for plaintiff-appellant.

Alexander Taft, U.S. Atty., Louisville, Ky., Suzanne M. Warner, U.S. Atty.'s Office, Louisville, Ky., for defendant-appellee.

Before ENGEL and JONES, Circuit Judges, and EDWARDS, Senior Circuit Judge.

NATHANIEL R. JONES, Circuit Judge.

Samuel Riddle appeals from the district court's denial of attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act ("EAJA"), 5 U.S.C. Sec. 504 (1982 & Supp. III 1985); 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2412 (1982 & Supp. III 1985). The district court based the denial upon its determination that the position of the United States was "reasonable," and so was substantially justified. This presents us with the question whether the legislative history of the 1985 reenactment of the EAJA obliges us to change our definition of substantially justified to something more than merely "reasonable." We conclude that a revised definition is called for, and reverse the district court's order denying attorney's fees.

I.

The claimant, Samuel Riddle, was born December 22, 1942. He worked as a self-employed farmer until December 1981, when he was injured in a serious automobile accident. Since the accident, Mr. Riddle has suffered from double vision due to a traumatic bilateral sixth cranial nerve paralysis, a ventilatory impairment due to orthopedic problems, neck pain and limited neck flexibility due to a fractured neck, and residual pulmonary problems.

Mr. Riddle applied for disability benefits on May 6, 1982. The application was denied initially and again on reconsideration. After conducting a hearing and reviewing the evidence, the administrative law judge concluded that the plaintiff could perform sedentary work and, therefore, was not disabled. This determination became the final decision of the Secretary when the Appeals Council denied review on July 1, 1983.

Mr. Riddle appealed this final decision of the Secretary to the district court, and the district court granted summary judgment in claimant's favor. The district court pointed out that all of Mr. Riddle's treating physicians documented organic causes for his alleged disability. Dr. O'Bryan, his pulmonary specialist, opined that claimant was severely disabled and without possibility of returning to work within one year. He felt that Mr. Riddle was orthopedically disabled, with a permanent ventilatory impairment of a severe nature. Dr. Binegar, who had performed a muscle transplant on claimant's right eye, noted that Mr. Riddle could only be comfortable when wearing an eyepatch. He therefore advised claimant not to work around heavy equipment or to perform tasks requiring binocular vision. Another treating physician, Dr. Riherd, recommended that claimant begin range of motion therapy, but said that claimant no longer needed to wear a neck brace. This doctor expressed no opinion regarding Mr. Riddle's ability to return to work.

The Secretary conceded that claimant could no longer perform his previous work. The Secretary contended that Mr. Riddle nevertheless had the residual functional capacity for sedentary work. The district court rejected this contention as unsupported by substantial evidence:

The record contains only three pieces of evidence favorable to the Secretary, none of which demonstrates the residual functional capacity to perform sedentary work. Those three pieces of evidence are: (1) the examination of Dr. R. Taylor (Tr. 216-217); (2) the examination of Dr. Samuel Weeks (Tr. 226); and (3) the finding of the Administrative Law Judge whereas [sic] plaintiff's complaints of pain were found not credible (Tr. 75 Finding No. 4).

As previously mentioned the notes of Dr. Taylor are in large part not legible. Plaintiff's various ailments are scribbled on a report, and as far as can be determined there was no medical evidence demonstrating plaintiff's ability to engage in sedentary employment nor was there a statement by Dr. Taylor that plaintiff possessed the residual functional capacity to engage in sedentary employment. As such this report (the record is unclear as to whether Dr. Taylor actually examined plaintiff) cannot constitute substantial evidence for finding plaintiff able to perform sedentary labor.

The consultative examination rendered by Dr. Weeks without benefit of a personal examination consists of a one sentence report: "Severe now but should not last for 12 months." The report is not accompanied by medical findings. This statement conflicts with the Secretary's findings as the Administrative Law Judge concedes plaintiff has a severe impairment which precludes a return to his former employment.

Lastly is the conclusion of the Administrative Law Judge that plaintiff's pain is not credible. Although the Administrative Law Judge's conclusions are to be given deference whereas plaintiff's credibility is concerned, Beavers v. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, 577 F.2d 383 (6th Cir.1978), this finding must be supported by some evidence. Weaver v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 722 F.2d 310 (6th Cir.1983). Here there is no evidence of record which conflicts with plaintiff's complaints of pain. Conversely, the evidence overwhelmingly documents their organic source.

As such the Secretary has failed to establish by substantial evidence that plaintiff has the residual functional capacity to engage in sedentary employment.

Riddle v. Heckler, No. C83-0238-O(B), slip op. at 8-10 (W.D. Ky. Oct. 23, 1985).

Following this reversal of the Secretary's denial of benefits, claimant petitioned for an award of $1,350 in attorney's fees under the EAJA. The district court denied the petition, briefly stating that although the Secretary's decision was not supported by substantial evidence, the Secretary's position was reasonable and, therefore, substantially justified. Claimant appeals, arguing in part that subsequent to the 1985 reenactment of the EAJA the Secretary's position should not be deemed substantially justified merely because it is reasonable.

II.

Congress, recognizing the economic deterrents to contesting governmental action, passed in 1980 the Equal Access to Justice Act. See 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2412(d). The EAJA specifically provides that a court "shall award" to a prevailing party in a civil suit (other than a tort action) brought by or against the United States the fees and other expenses incurred by that party unless the court finds "that the position of the United States was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust." 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2412(d)(1)(A).

Had this statute not yet been interpreted, we would begin our interpretation of the 1980 statute by following the canons of statutory construction and reading the plain language while ignoring momentarily the legislative history of the statute. See, e.g., United States v. Apfelbaum, 445 U.S. 115, 121-23, 100 S.Ct. 948, 952-53, 63 L.Ed.2d 250 (1980). Applying this hypothetical de novo construction, we note at the outset that the syntax of the statute suggests that the presumption is that a prevailing party will receive attorney's fees unless and until the government demonstrates that it falls within the exception set forth--that its position was substantially justified or special circumstances exist. This leads to the question of what the term "substantially justified" would mean if unexplicated by legislative history. The adjective "substantial," while connoting various meanings, generally indicates something that is "sturdy," "solid," or "firm," something that is not "imaginary" or "illusive." 2 Webster's Third New International Dictionary Unabridged 2280 (1965). Thus, if we were to read the term "substantially justified" outside of any context, we might assume that it indicated something firmly grounded or solidly based.

The courts, however, were not faced with the task of defining "substantially justified" in a vacuum. The legislative history behind the 1980 enactment of the EAJA suggested how that term might be interpreted--albeit the history pointed to two different interpretations. The House Report proposed that:

The test of whether or not a Government action is substantially justified is essentially one of reasonableness. Where the Government can show that its case had a reasonable basis both in law and fact, no award will be made.

H.R.Rep. No. 96-1418, 96th Cong., 2nd Sess. 10, reprinted in 1980 U.S. Code Cong. & Admin. News 4984, 4989. This legislative history appears to have been the basis for this circuit's current definition of "substantially justified." See Trident Marine Const., Inc. v. District Engineer, 766 F.2d 974, 980 (6th Cir.1985) ("Whether or not the government's position is substantially justified is basically a question of reasonableness."). However, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that another aspect of the legislative history called for a "test ... more stringent than 'one of reasonableness.' " Spencer v. NLRB, 712 F.2d 539, 558 (D.C.Cir.1983) (citation omitted). This legislative history consisted of the Senate Judiciary Committee's rejection of an amendment that would have changed the pertinent language from "substantially justified" to "reasonably justified." S.Rep. No. 253, 96th Cong., 1st Sess. 1, 4 (1979). In light of the ambiguous legislative history, both the Sixth Circuit's test and the D.C. Circuit's test were supportable, although the D.C. Circuit's standard might have comported more with the plain language of the statute.

Section 2412(d) as passed in 1980, however, was avowedly experimental. It was subject to a sunset provision;...