( November 6, 2024, 2:08 PM EST) -- SAN FRANCISCO — A federal magistrate judge erred in finding that part of a Social Security claimant’s attorney fees request was categorically excluded under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, in light of the magistrate’s finding that the denial of her benefits request by the Social Security Administration (SSA) was not “substantially justified.”...