Summary
This Federal Circuit opinion addresses whether an untimely application for attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) in the Veterans Court can be equitably tolled based on ordinary neglect rather than extraordinary circumstances. The court held that because neither the EAJA statute nor the relevant Veterans Court rules reference "excusable neglect," equitable tolling requires proof of extraordinary circumstances. Finding that the appellant's late filing resulted merely from counsel's miscalculation of the mandate's effective date, the court affirmed the Veterans Court's dismissal of the fee application as untimely.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the statutory deadline to file an EAJA application in the Veterans Court may be tolled by anything other than extraordinary circumstances.
Holdings
- Equitable tolling of the EAJA filing deadline in the Veterans Court is available only upon proof of extraordinary circumstances; ordinary neglect does not qualify.
Key quotations
““Cases that require the application of the appropriate standard [of equitable tolling] to undisputed facts[] are properly questions of law reviewed de novo by this court.”” (842)
““[A] garden variety claim of excusable neglect, such as a simple miscalculation that leads a lawyer to miss a filing deadline, does not warrant equitable tolling.”” (651-52)
Factual background
George Roseberry, a former Army serviceman, filed a claim for service‑connected disability in 1994 which was denied. After several unsuccessful attempts to reopen the claim, the Veterans Court remanded the case to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals in July 2021. The Court’s mandate became effective on October 12, 2021. Roseberry filed an EAJA fee application on November 13, 2021, one day after the statutory 30‑day deadline, relying on the docket entry date of October 15.
Procedural history
The Veterans Court dismissed Roseberry's EAJA fee application as untimely, finding no extraordinary circumstances. Roseberry appealed that dismissal to the Federal Circuit.