Thomas William O’connell v. CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Commissioner of Social Security

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
THOMAS WILLIAM O’CONNELL,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Commissioner
of Social Security,
Defendant - Appellee.
No. 14-16150
D.C. No. 2:12-cv-02681-GMS
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Arizona
G. Murray Snow, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted February 1, 2016 **
Before: LEAVY, GRABER, and OWENS, Circuit Judges.
Thomas O’Connell appeals the district court’s order denying his motion for
attorneys fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”) following the
district court’s decision vacating the agency’s denial of his application under Titles
FILED
FEB 03 2016
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

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II and XVI of the Social Security Act and remanding for further proceedings. We
have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review for abuse of discretion,
Tobeler v. Colvin, 749 F.3d 830, 832 (9th Cir. 2014), and we vacate and remand.
We are unable to review the district court’s order denying EAJA fees
because the district court did not provide an explanation for its decision that the
government’s position was substantially justified. See Meier v. Colvin, 727 F.3d
867, 869-70 (9th Cir. 2013); cf. Padgett v. Loventhal, 706 F.3d 1205, 1208 (9th
Cir. 2013) (“Without an adequate explanation by the district court, an appellate
court is unable to determine if the district court abused its discretion.”).
Accordingly, we vacate and remand the district court’s order denying EAJA fees.
The parties shall bear their own costs on appeal.
VACATED and REMANDED.
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