GOVERNMENT BENEFITS CASES

• Park Manor, Ltd, v. US Dep't of Health and Human Servs.
• Bertrand v. Maram
• England v. Astrue
• Cox v. Astrue

U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 23, 2007
Park Manor, Ltd, v. US Dep't of Health and Human Servs., No. 06-3521
Petition for review is denied after an agency decision to deny attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act for the challenger in a challenge to sanctions imposed on a nursing home by defendant-agency where: 1) there was substantial justification for charges against petitioner that the agency later dropped; and 2) the petitioner prevailed in the remaining proceedings. Read more...

U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 24, 2007
Bertrand v. Maram, No. 06-3705
In a suit challenging Illinois rules for the provision of residential habilitation services, one plaintiff's appeal is dismissed as moot where a purported class was not certified before plaintiff's personal claim became moot. Judgment for defendants is affirmed where a state does not violate federal Medicaid law by using the criteria that formed part of the basis for requesting a waiver for a program in order to determine eligibility. Read more...

U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 26, 2007
England v. Astrue, No. 06-3578
Denial of application for Social Security disability benefits is affirmed where: 1) the ALJ's determinations were supported by substantial evidence; 2) the hypothetical posed to the ALJ adequately reflected all of the applicant's limitations; and 3) the ALJ adequately explained why he rejected the applicant's subjective complaints. Read more...

U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 26, 2007
Cox v. Astrue, No. 06-3640
Denial of application for Social Security Disability Benefits is affirmed over applicant's argument that, as a result of procedural errors and ambiguous medical evidence, the ALJ's determination that she was not disabled was not premised on substantial evidence. Read more...