The case of Zakhar Melkonyan v. Louis W. Sullivan, Secretary of Health and Human Services in 1990 revolved around the issue of whether or not a claimant who is initially denied disability benefits under the Social Security Act but later granted them on appeal is entitled to attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). The Supreme Court held that such a claimant could be considered a "prevailing party" for purposes of EAJA even if they were not successful at every stage of their case. This decision was based on an interpretation that Congress intended EAJA to cover all civil actions including those where final judgment had been rendered in favor of non-government parties regardless if it was through settlement or litigation.

In the dissenting opinion for Melkonyan v. Sullivan, Justice Blackmun argued that the majority's interpretation of "final judgment" under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) was too narrow and inconsistent with Congress' intent. He believed that a remand order from an Appeals Council should be considered as a final judgement because it terminates proceedings at one level and initiates them at another. Furthermore, he pointed out that this interpretation would not flood courts with premature EAJA applications since most claimants wait until after administrative proceedings are complete before seeking fees. Additionally, he disagreed with the majority’s view on when fee applications can be filed in Social Security cases; instead suggesting they could be filed either 30 days after a court’s judgment becomes “not appealable” or within 30 days of receiving notice from HHS about its decision following remand – whichever is later.