Bowman v. District of Columbia

• Decision Date: 01 August 2007
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 06-0016 (RMU).
• Parties: Essie BOWMAN et al., Plaintiffs, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

Page 160

496 F.Supp.2d 160

Essie BOWMAN et al., Plaintiffs, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 06-0016 (RMU).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

August 1, 2007.

Paul S. Dalton, Ellen Douglass Dalton, William E. Houston, Dalton, Dalton & Houston, P.C., Alexandria, VA, for Plaintiffs.

Maria L. Merkowitz, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

GRANTING THE DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT¹

URBINA, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

The plaintiffs, minor children and their parents, guardians and court-appointed education advocates, bring this action to collect unpaid attorneys' fees and other costs pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq. Because education advocates proceeding pro se may not recover attorneys' fees under the IDEA, the court grants the defendant's motion for partial summary judgment for the claims brought by William Houston and Laura Duos in their representation of the minor children P.C., K.J., M.C., V.H., J.C. and D.L.

II. BACKGROUND

The plaintiffs are 19 minor children and their parents, guardians and court-appointed education advocates. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 28, 36, 40, 48, 52, 60, 64, 68, 72, 76, 80, 84, 88. Six of the 19 children are wards of the District of Columbia. Id. ¶¶ 12, 24, 36, 52, 76, 84. Court-appointed education advocates William Houston and Laura Duos represent these six children. Id. The Family division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia also appointed the education advocates as "Guardian[s], Limited for Educational Purposes." Pls.' Opp'n to Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss ("Pls.' Opp'n"), Ex. 1; Praecipe Ex. 1. According to the caption in the complaint, they bring the instant suit as next friends of the children.

Beginning on October 14, 2003 and continuing through August 20, 2004, all of the plaintiffs initiated administrative hearings to address their due process claims² against the District of Columbia Public Schools ("DCPS"). Am. Compl. ¶¶ 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 28, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68, 72, 76, 80, 84, 88. The plaintiffs allege that they were the prevailing parties against DCPS in these hearings. Id. As such, they submitted petitions for attorneys' fees to DCPS. Id. ¶¶ 5, 9, 13, 17, 25 29, 37, 41, 45, 49, 53, 57, 61, 65, 69, 73, 77, 81, 85, 89. Because DCPS did not reimburse the plaintiffs for the full amount requested,³ the plaintiffs bring the instant suit seeking $8,728.50 in unpaid attorneys' fees and costs. Id. ¶ 19.

On January 1, 2006, the plaintiffs brought suit pursuant to the IDEA and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Id. ¶ 1. The court granted partial summary judgment in favor of the defendants on the § 1983 claim. Bowman v. Dist. of Columbia, 477 F.Supp.2d 217 (D.D.C.2007). The court also ordered the parties to submit supplemental briefs analyzing the ability of court-appointed education advocates to collect attorneys' fees and addressing whether court-appointed advocates may act as both plaintiff and counsel pursuant to Rule 3.7 of the District of Columbia Rules of Professional Conduct. Id. at 222.

III. ANALYSIS

The defendant argues that court-appointed educational advocates cannot collect fees in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Def.'s Mot. for Partial Dismissal ("Def.'s Mot.") at 8. For the reasons that follow, the court dismisses the court-appointed education advocates' IDEA claims.

A. Legal Standard for a Motion for Summary Judgment

Summary judgment is appropriate when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." FED.R.CIV.P. 56(c); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Diamond v. Atwood, 43 F.3d 1538, 1540 (D.C.Cir.1995). To determine which facts are "material," a court must look to the substantive law on which each claim rests. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A "genuine issue" is one whose resolution could establish an element of a claim or defense and, therefore, affect the outcome of the action. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must draw all justifiable inferences in the nonmoving party's favor and accept the nonmoving party's evidence as true. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A nonmoving party, however, must establish more than "the mere existence of a scintilla of evidence" in support of its position. Id. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, the moving party must show that the nonmoving party "fail[ed] to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548. By pointing to the absence of evidence proffered by the nonmoving party, a moving party may succeed on summary judgment. Id.

The nonmoving party may defeat summary judgment through factual representations made in a sworn affidavit if he "support[s] his allegations ... with facts in the record," Greene v. Dalton, 164 F.3d 671, 675 (D.C.Cir.1999) (quoting Harding v. Gray, 9 F.3d 150, 154 (D.C.Cir.1993)), or provides "direct testimonial evidence," Arrington v. United States, 473 F.3d 329, 338 (D.C.Cir.2006). Indeed, for the court to accept anything less "would defeat the central purpose of the summary judgment device, which is to weed out those cases insufficiently meritorious to warrant the expense of a jury trial." Greene, 164 F.3d at 675.

B. The Defendant's Arguments are Not Barred by Estoppel

As a preliminary matter, the plaintiffs contend that the defendant is estopped from arguing that the IDEA precludes attorney fees for education advocates. Pls.' Supp. Br. at 7. The plaintiffs point to the defendant's failure to raise its arguments in the due process hearings and the defendant's partial payment for educational advocates' attorneys' fees. Id. at 8. The defendant does not contest these facts, but it asserts that "estoppel will not lie against the Government in the absence of a showing of `affirmative misconduct,'" and making partial payments does not amount to "affirmative misconduct." Def.'s Reply at 11-12 (citing LaRouche v. Fed. Election Comm'n, 28 F.3d 137, 142 (D.C.Cir. 1994)). Although the plaintiffs had the opportunity to address whether the defendant's conduct amounted to "affirmative misconduct," the plaintiffs failed to do so, simply restating their initial arguments and citing only to case law applying estoppel to private parties. Pls.' Supp. Br. at 7-8.

The traditional elements of equitable estoppel include "one person making a definite misrepresentation of fact to another person" who reasonably relies on that misrepresentation to his detriment. Smith v. United States, 277 F.Supp.2d 100, 115 (D.D.C.2003) (quoting Heckler v. Cmty. Health Servs., 467 U.S. 51, 59, 104 S.Ct. 2218, 81 L.Ed.2d 42 (1984)). Because the plaintiffs fail to provide evidence that the failure to raise arguments during the due process hearings or the partial payments of attorneys' fees was designed to invite the education advocates to continue to provide pro se representation, cf. Int'l Org. of Masters, Mates & Pilots v. Brown, 698 F.2d 536, 552 (D.C.Cir.1983) (determining that payment of salaries above a pay ceiling estopped the defendant from later imposing the cap on the plaintiffs), or that the plaintiffs detrimentally relied on the said action, the plaintiffs have not established the traditional elements of estoppel. Id.; Heckler v. Comty. Health Servs. of Crawford County, Inc., 467 U.S. 51, 61, 104 S.Ct. 2218, 81 L.Ed.2d 42 (1984) (observing that "a private party surely cannot prevail without at least demonstrating that the traditional elements of an estoppel are present").

Moreover, where, as here, estoppel would apply against the government, a plaintiff must show, in addition to the traditional elements, that the "government agents [have] engage[d] — by commission or omission — in conduct that can be characterized as misrepresentation or concealment, or at least [have] behave[d] in ways that have or will cause an egregiously unfair result." Smith, 277 F.Supp.2d at 107 (internal citation and quotation marks omitted); accord. Conax Fla. Corp. v. United States, 824 F.2d 1124, 1131 (D.C.Cir.1987) (recognizing that "the Supreme Court has indicated [that affirmative misconduct] is a prerequisite to a finding of estoppel against the United States"); L'Enfant Plaza Props., Inc. v. District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency, 564 F.2d 515, 524 (D.C.Cir.1977) (requiring "egregious injustice"). The plaintiffs fail to establish this element as well. The plaintiffs do not persuade the court that the partial payment of attorneys' fees estops the defendant from later contesting payment. Indeed, payments to the plaintiff do not "suggest[] ... affirmative misconduct," which is "a prerequisite to a finding of estoppel against the United States." Conax, 824 F.2d at 1131 (rejecting the plaintiffs assertion that the government was estopped from challenging a contract on which it had completed payment). Because payments alone are insufficient to establish affirmative misconduct, the defendant's partial payments of attorneys' fees, likewise, are insufficient. Furthermore, failing to raise arguments in an administrative due process hearing does not constitute affirmative misconduct absent a showing, by the plaintiff, that the omission was anything more than "ordinary negligence." See Gibson v. West, 201 F.3d 990, 994 (7th Cir.2000) (internal quotation marks omitted) (holding...