Bassett v. Astrue

ROVNER, Circuit Judge.

We must determine whether the district court abused its discretion in denying Rodger Bassett’s petition for attorneys’ fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The act entitles a prevailing party to fees only if the position of the United States was not substantially justified. And the district court concluded that a reasonable person could think that the commissioner of Social Security acted with a rational basis in fact and law, not only in denying Bassett’s application for disability benefits in part, but also in unsuccessfully defending that portion of the…