G.M. ex rel. R.F. v. New Britain Bd. of Educ.

• Decision Date: 12 April 1999
• Docket Number: Docket No. 98-7636
• Parties: 134 Ed. Law Rep. 24 G.M., By and Through His Guardian and Next Friend, R.F., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NEW BRITAIN BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Page 77

173 F.3d 77

134 Ed. Law Rep. 24

G.M., By and Through His Guardian and Next Friend, R.F., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NEW BRITAIN BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendant-Appellee.

Docket No. 98-7636.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued March 18, 1999.

Decided April 12, 1999.

David C. Shaw, Hartford, Conn., for Plaintiff-Appellant G.M.

Richard J. Buturla, Berchem, Moses & Devlin, P.C., Milford, Conn., for Defendant-Appellee New Britain Board of Education.

Before: McLAUGHLIN, CALABRESI, and GIBSON, ^* Circuit Judges.

CALABRESI, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-appellant G.M., by and through his guardian and next friend, R.F., appeals from a decision of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (Alfred V. Covello, Chief Judge ) granting summary judgment to defendant-appellee New Britain Board of Education (the "Board"). G.M.'s suit against the Board seeks to recover attorney fees and costs that G.M.'s representatives incurred in the course of an administrative proceeding brought under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1491o (1994), to challenge the adequacy of the special education program that the Board offered G.M. The district court found that G.M. was not a "prevailing party" in the administrative proceeding and therefore could not receive costs or attorney fees. Because the record does not support the district court's conclusion, we reverse.

BACKGROUND

During the time relevant to his action, G.M. was a seventeen-year-old student at New Britain High School, which is operated by the Board. Because G.M. has learning disabilities, the Board has provided him with various special education services. Beginning in September 1995, the Board contracted with Futures, Inc. ("Futures"), to furnish some of these.

Under the IDEA, G.M.'s planning and placement team ("PPT") is charged with developing an individual education plan ("IEP") that tailors G.M.'s educational services to his needs. See 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(B) (Supp.1998). G.M.'s PPT includes one of his teachers, his advocate (an employee of the State of Connecticut's Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities), his probation officer, a pupil services coordinator, a representative from Futures, and an attorney representing the Board who attended some of the meetings.

In February 1996, Futures suggested that G.M.'s educational plan be modified to emphasize "transitional planning ... with a focus on community-based goals and objectives." Subsequently, during a regular PPT meeting in April, G.M.'s advocate, Bruce Garrison, requested that the PPT modify G.M.'s IEP to implement a more community-based approach. At the time, the IEP included fifteen hours of special education at his high school each week and ten hours of vocational exploration in the community, provided by Futures. When In May, Futures submitted a proposal for a "Community-Based Alternative Curriculum" that was designed to help G.M. acquire basic work and social skills, a work ethic, and independent living skills. At the next PPT meeting, held in June, Garrison voiced his opinion that, unless this Futures proposal were adopted, G.M.'s IEP would remain inadequate. The PPT instead chose what it called an "adaptation" of the Futures proposal. This increased G.M.'s hours in Futures' vocational exploration program to fifteen per week, but still kept G.M. at the high school for fifteen hours. In July, Garrison, on behalf of G.M.'s guardian, requested a full administrative ("due process") hearing to address "the Board['s] refusal to approve an independent evaluation[ and G.M.'s guardian's] disagree[ment] with [his] current placement and IEP."

G.M.'s teacher stated that he thought that G.M.'s school situation was improving, Garrison disagreed and requested an independent evaluation of G.M.'s educational needs. The Board's attorney refused to approve an independent evaluation until G.M.'s family showed that such an evaluation was needed. At the conclusion of the meeting, the PPT, with Garrison dissenting, decided that the current IEP was appropriate to G.M.'s needs.

The hearing began in September, but was adjourned when G.M.'s guardian and the Board reached an agreement to have Futures conduct an independent evaluation of G.M.'s educational needs. The Futures evaluation, completed in October, recommended a community-based educational program with characteristics similar to those of the May Futures proposal that the PPT had rejected in June. Later in October, the Board and G.M.'s guardian stipulated "to implement the recommendations contained in the independent evaluation." The hearing officer accepted the stipulation as the final decision in the case, retaining jurisdiction for ninety days to resolve any disagreements arising out of the stipulation.

In November, G.M. filed this action in the district court seeking costs and attorney fees incurred in the administrative proceeding. The Board and G.M. submitted cross-motions for summary judgment. The district court granted the Board's motion and denied G.M.'s motion. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

In general, "[w]e review a district court's ruling on attorneys' fees for abuse of discretion." McCardle v. Haddad, 131 F.3d 43, 53 (2d Cir.1997); see also W.G. v. Senatore, 18 F.3d 60, 63 (2d Cir.1994) (noting same, in an IDEA case). Under the abuse of discretion standard, a district court's decision " 'cannot be set aside by a reviewing court unless it has a definite and firm conviction that the court below committed a clear error of judgment in the conclusion it reached upon a weighing of the relevant factors.' " Carroll v. American Fed'n of Musicians, 295 F.2d 484, 488 (2d Cir.1961) (quoting In re Josephson, 218 F.2d 174, 182 (1st Cir.1954)). Because the district court decided this case at the summary judgment stage, however, we also must reverse its decision if it required the resolution of any genuinely disputed material fact. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

B. Merits

The IDEA ensures "all children with disabilities ... a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs." 20 U.S.C. § 1400(d) (Supp.1998). If the guardian of a child with a disability successfully enforces his or her rights under the IDEA in an administrative action, the statute authorizes courts to award reasonable attorney fees to the guardian. See id. *81s 1415(i)(3)(B). ¹ The district court held, however, that G.M. was not a "prevailing party" in the administrative proceedings and therefore could not receive attorney fees and costs.

" '[P]laintiffs may be considered "prevailing parties" for attorney's fees purposes if they succeed on any significant issue in litigation which achieves some of the benefit the parties sought in bringing the suit.' " Texas State Teachers Ass'n v. Garland Indep. Sch. Dist., 489 U.S. 782, 789, 109 S.Ct. 1486, 103 L.Ed.2d 866 (1989) (quoting Nadeau v. Helgemoe, 581 F.2d 275, 278-79 (1st Cir.1978)). "A plaintiff may be considered a prevailing party even though the relief ultimately obtained is not identical to the relief demanded in the complaint, provided the relief obtained is of the same general type." Koster v. Perales, 903 F.2d 131, 134-35 (2d Cir.1990). "[T]he most critical factor is the degree of success obtained." Texas State Teachers Ass'n, 489 U.S. at 789, 109 S.Ct. 1486.

In applying the prevailing party standard to IDEA cases, we have compared the relief sought by the plaintiff with the relief obtained as a result of the suit. See, e.g., Christopher P. v. Marcus, 915 F.2d 794, 804 (2d Cir.1990). Similarly, the Third Circuit has characterized the appropriate inquiry as a two-part test: "whether plaintiffs achieved relief and whether there is a causal connection between the litigation and the relief from the defendant." Wheeler v. Towanda Area Sch. Dist., 950 F.2d 128, 131 (3d Cir.1991); see also Koster, 903 F.2d at 135 ("To justify a fee award, 'the prevailing party must show a causal connection between the relief obtained and the litigation in which the fees are sought.' " (quoting Gerena-Valentin v. Koch, 739 F.2d 755, 758 (2d Cir.1984))). The Third Circuit's explanation of the "causal connection" element of this test is instructive and particularly relevant in assessing whether a plaintiff has "prevailed" in a case resolved by settlement:

Litigation is causally related to the relief obtained if it was a material contributing factor in bringing about the events that resulted in obtaining the desired relief. Litigation can be a material contributing factor if it changed the legal relations of the parties such that defendants were legally compelled to grant relief.

Alternatively, causation can be established through a "catalyst" theory, where even though the litigation did not result in a favorable judgment, the pressure of the lawsuit was a material contributing factor in bringing about extrajudicial relief.

Wheeler, 950 F.2d at 132 (internal citations omitted); see also Koster, 903 F.2d at 135 ("Such a causal connection exists if the plaintiff's lawsuit was 'a catalytic, necessary, or substantial factor in attaining the relief.' " (quoting Gerena-Valentin, 739 F.2d at 758-59)).

In assessing G.M.'s success in accomplishing his goals in requesting an administrative hearing, the district court characterized G.M.'s requested relief in very narrow terms: (1) an independent evaluation by a particular evaluator, Dr. Ernie Panscofar; and (2) an increase in G.M.'s vocational and community-based education to 20-25 hours per week. According to the district court, because the Board and G.M. stipulated to an independent evaluation by Futures rather than by Dr. Panscofar and because Futures' October 1996 recommendations (adopted in the settlement) did not expressly specify the number of hours G.M....