Cite as: 509 U. S. 292 (1993)
Stevens, J., concurring in judgment
forth." See United States v. Indrelunas, 411 U. S. 216, 220 (1973) (per curiam).
Since the District Court's April 4 remand order was a final judgment, see supra, at 299, a "separate document" of judgment should have been entered. It is clear from the record that this was not done. The Secretary does not dispute that, but argues that a formal "separate document" of judgment is not needed for an order of a district court to become appealable. That is quite true, see 28 U. S. C. § 1291; Bankers Trust Co. v. Mallis, 435 U. S. 381 (1978) (per curiam); Fink-elstein, supra, at 628, n. 7, but also quite irrelevant. EAJA's 30-day time limit runs from the end of the period for appeal, not the beginning. Absent a formal judgment, the District Court's April 4 order remained "appealable" at the time that Schaefer filed his application for EAJA fees, and thus the application was timely under § 2412(d)(1).6
* * *
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is
Affirmed.
Justice Stevens, with whom Justice Blackmun joins, concurring in the judgment.
In Sullivan v. Hudson, 490 U. S. 877 (1989), a case, like this one, in which a federal court reversed the Secretary of
6 We disagree with Justice Stevensí assertion that "the respondent has prevailed precisely because the District Court in this case did enter a remand order without entering a judgment." Post, at 305, n. 2 (emphasis in original). By entering a sentence-four remand order, the District Court did enter a judgment; it just failed to comply with the formalities of Rule 58 in doing so. That was error but, as detailed in the text, the relevant rules and statutes impose the burden of that error on the party seeking to assert an untimeliness defense, here the Secretary. Thus, contrary to Justice Stevensí suggestion, see ibid., our ruling in favor of respondent is not at all inconsistent with the proposition that sentence four and sentence six provide the exclusive methods by which district courts may remand a § 405 case to the Secretary.
303
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