Court Opinion

ID: 9495814
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:10:55.584537+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:57:12.702828
License: Public Domain

MAYER, Chief Judge,
dissenting.
Because I believe that: (1) Edelman v. Lynchburg College, 535 U.S. 106, 122 S.Ct. 1145, 152 L.Ed.2d 188 (2002), implies that failure to timely include a simple allegation that does not prejudice the opposing party, may relate back to a timely filed application; (2) the court unnecessarily narrows the waiver that Congress intended because the statutory language of the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”) does not mandate strict compliance or foreclose supplementation; and (3) Bazalo v. West, 150 F.3d *13561380 (Fed.Cir.1998), controls the outcome of this case, I dissent.
The “no substantial justification” allegation in the EAJA application is akin to the verification requirement of Edelman and the signature requirement of Becker v. Montgomery, 532 U.S. 757, 121 S.Ct. 1801, 149 L.Ed.2d 983 (2001). The Court noted in those cases, respectively, that both the verification and signature requirements are aimed at stemming irresponsible litigation. Similarly, the no substantial justification allegation of EAJA serves a public policy function; it is a burden-shifting mechanism to offset deterrents to contesting government action. The legislative history pointedly reveals that this simple allegation was included “to place the burden on the government to make a positive showing that its position and actions during the course of the proceedings were substantially justified.... ” S.Rep. No. 96-974, at 10 (1980), reprinted in 1980 U.S.C.C.A.N. 4726, 4992. Congress recognized that this standard struck a balance between the executive branch’s duty to observe that the laws are faithfully executed and the public interest in encouraging parties to vindicate their rights. Id. at 4989. The legislative history further explains that the standard was implemented because it is easier for the government, controller of the evidence, to establish the reasonableness of its action versus a private party. Id. Moreover, failure to include the simple allegation within the thirty-day time period does not prejudice the government’s response to the application. And the applicant need not marshal the facts to determine if the government’s position was substantially justified. Comm’r, Immigration & Naturalization Serv. v. Jean, 496 U.S. 154, 160, 110 S.Ct. 2316, 110 L.Ed.2d 134 (1990) (“Moreover, the 1985 amendment to § 2412(d)(1)(B) directs a court to determine whether the Government’s past position was substantially justified ‘on the basis of the record....’” (Pub.L. No. 99-80, 99 Stat. 184-185, § 2(b) (codified as amended at 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B)))).
The objective of EAJA is to eliminate the financial disincentive for those who .would defend against unjustified governmental action and thereby deter it. Jean, 496 U.S. at 163, 110 S.Ct. 2316. In light of this and Bazalo, Becker, and Edelman, it is apparent that Congress did not intend the EAJA application process to be an additional deterrent to the vindication of rights because of a missing averment.
EAJA is a waiver of sovereign immunity and therefore must be strictly construed. But we must take care not to “assume the authority to narrow the waiver that Congress intended.” United States v. Kubrick, 444 U.S. 111, 118, 100 S.Ct. 352, 62 L.Ed.2d 259 (1979). By holding that failure to include the “no substantial justification” allegation within the thirty-day filing requirement is an incurable jurisdictional requirement, the court indulges an “unduly restrictive” reading of the congressional waiver of sovereign immunity, Bowen v. City of New York, 476 U.S. 467, 479, 106 S.Ct. 2022, 90 L.Ed.2d 462 (1986), rather than “a realistic assessment of legislative intent,” Irwin v. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, 498 U.S. 89, 95, 111 S.Ct. 453, 112 L.Ed.2d 435 (1990). In my view this is substantially the same case as Bazalo, which I would follow.