Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-88-01608/USCOURTS-ca10-88-01608-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 860
Nature of Suit: other
Cause of Action: 

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PUBLISH 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

MARTHA ROBINSON, 

Plaintiff-Appellee, 

FILED 

United Stat.es Court of Appeals 

Tenth Circuit 

FEB 2 21989 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

v. 

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No. 88-1608 

OTIS R. BOWEN, M.D., Secretary, 

Department of Health and Human 

Services, 

Defendant-Appellant. 

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS 

(D.C. Civil No. 84-1226-T) 

Harry B. Mallin, Assistant Regional Counsel, Department of Health 

and Human Services, Kansas City, Missouri (Benjamin L. Burgess, 

Jr., United States Attorney for the District of Kansas; Stephen K. 

Lester, Assistant United States Attorney; and Paul P. Cacioppo, 

Chief Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services, with him 

on the brief), for Defendant-Appellant. 

David H.M. Gray of Gragert, Hiebert, Gray & Woodring, Wichita, 

Kansas, for Plaintiff-Appellee. 

Before MCKAY, BARRETT, and BALDOCK, Circuit Judges. 

PER CURIAM. 

We find that the trial court violated Rule 36.3 of the Rules 

of Court for the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth 

Circuit i~ relying upon an unpublished opinion, Van Natter v. 

Appellate Case: 88-1608 Document: 01019739910 Date Filed: 02/22/1989 Page: 1 
Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, No. 79-1439, slip op. 

(10th Cir. 1981). Notwithstanding this error, we affirm the trial 

court's decision for the balance of reasons given in its opinion. 

We cannot say that the court abused its discretion in finding that 

the Secretary's position was not substantially justified for 

purposes of awarding attorney's fees to the prevailing plaintiff 

under EAJA. 

AFFIRMED. 

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Appellate Case: 88-1608 Document: 01019739910 Date Filed: 02/22/1989 Page: 2