McAllister v. Dist. of Columbia, Civil Action No.: 11–cv–2173 RC
| Decision Date | 06 March 2014 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No.: 11–cv–2173 RC |
| Parties | Josephine McAllister, et al., Plaintiffs, v. District of Columbia, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
Douglas Tyrka, Tyrka & Associates, LLC, McLean, VA, for Plaintiffs.
Laura George, Tasha Monique Hardy, Office of Attorney General, Washington, DC, for Defendant.
The plaintiffs are the parents of children with special needs who litigated cases brought against the District of Columbia Public Schools (“DCPS”) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (“IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1415 et seq. This case, an aggregate of twenty-three separate matters, presents the plaintiffs' claims for attorneys' fees under the fee-shifting provision of the IDEA. Specifically, plaintiffs seek a total of $386,139.52 in attorneys' fees, plus costs for hours billed by Tyrka & Associates, LLC from 2008 to 2013.
A party moving for summary judgment on legal fees must demonstrate prevailing party status and the reasonableness of the fees requested in terms of hours spent and hourly rate. See infra Part B. Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a), summary judgment shall be granted if the movant shows that “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 ). Summary judgment should be granted against a party “who fails 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 Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
The court is required to draw all justifiable inferences in the non-moving party's favor and to accept the non-moving party's evidence as true. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The nonmoving party must establish more than “the mere existence of a scintilla of evidence” in support of its position. Id. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The non-moving party cannot rely on allegations or conclusory statements; instead, the non-moving party is obliged to present specific facts that would enable a reasonable jury to find in its favor. Greene v. Dalton, 164 F.3d 671, 675 (D.C.Cir.1999).
Pursuant to the IDEA, a district court may award “reasonable attorneys' fees” to a prevailing party who is the parent of a child with a disability. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3)(B). Accordingly, a court bases its award of fees on a two-step inquiry: first, the court must determine whether the party seeking attorney's fees is the prevailing party, and second, the court must determine whether the requested fees are reasonable.See Jackson v. Dist. of Columbia, 696 F.Supp.2d 97, 101 (D.D.C.2010).
First, a plaintiff must demonstrate that she is a “prevailing party” to recover any attorney's fees under the IDEA. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3)(B). A “prevailing party” is one “who has been awarded some relief by the court.” Buckhannon Bd. & Care Home, Inc. v. W. Virginia Dep't of Health & Human Res., 532 U.S. 598, 603, 121 S.Ct. 1835, 149 L.Ed.2d 855 (2001). Specifically, “plaintiffs 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 suit.” Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983) (quoting Nadeau v. Helgemoe, 581 F.2d 275, 278 (1st Cir.1978) ); see also Artis ex rel. S.A. v. Dist. of Columbia, 543 F.Supp.2d 15, 22 (D.D.C.2008) (). In District of Columbia v. Straus, the Court of Appeals applied a three-part test to determine prevailing party status: “(1) there must be a ‘court-ordered change in the legal relationship’ of the parties; (2) the judgment must be in favor of the party seeking the fees; and (3) the judicial pronouncement must be accompanied by judicial relief.” 590 F.3d 898, 901 (D.C.Cir.2010) (quoting Thomas v. Nat'l Sci. Found., 330 F.3d 486, 492–93 (D.C.Cir.2003) ).
After concluding that a plaintiff is a “prevailing party,” the court must then determine whether the fees sought are reasonable. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3)(B). As this will depend on a case's particular facts, “[t]he most useful starting point for determining the amount of a reasonable fee is the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate”—the so-called “lodestar fee.” Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933 ; see also Jackson, 696 F.Supp.2d at 101 ().
The plaintiff bears the burden of establishing the reasonableness of any fee requests, specifically that both the hourly rate and the number of hours spent on any particular task are reasonable. In re North, 59 F.3d 184, 189 (D.C.Cir.1995). A plaintiff may do so by submitting evidence on at least three fronts: “the attorneys' billing practices; the attorneys' skill, experience, and reputation; and the prevailing market rates of the relevant community.” Covington v. Dist. of Columbia, 57 F.3d 1101, 1107 (D.C.Cir.1995). Once the plaintiff has provided such information, a presumption arises that the number of hours billed is reasonable and the burden shifts to the defendant to rebut the plaintiff's showing. Id. at 1109–10. However, if both parties fail to present satisfactory evidence demonstrating that their hourly rates are reasonable, the court may determine the amount of that rate by reference to the Laffey Matrix.1 See Rooths v. Dist. of Columbia, 802 F.Supp.2d 56, 62 (D.D.C.2011).
The defendant argues that the plaintiffs are not entitled to an award of attorney's fees for students N.M. and S.S. because they failed to achieve prevailing party status. See Def.'s Opp'n Mot., 18, June 25, 2013, ECF No. 22. Further, the defendant argues that even if the Court finds that the plaintiffs prevailed in these cases, the Court should nonetheless reduce any fees awarded to account for their limited success.See Def.'s Reply, 8, July 30, 2013, ECF No. 26.
To reach prevailing party status in the N.M. and S.S. case, the plaintiff, in both cases, must have: (1) experienced a court-ordered change in its relationship with the District; (2) obtained a favorable judgment; and (3) received a judicial pronouncement accompanied by some judicial relief. See Straus, 590 F.3d at 901 (). However, a party need not succeed on every claim to reach prevailing party status; it is within a court's discretion to consider the extent to which a party prevails on various issues in calculating fee awards. See Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933 (). “The touchstone of the prevailing party inquiry must be the material alteration of the legal relationship of the parties in a manner which Congress sought to promote in the fee statute.” Tex. State Teachers Ass'n v. Garland Indep. Sch. Dist., 489 U.S. 782, 792–93, 109 S.Ct. 1486, 103 L.Ed.2d 866 (1989).
Defendant argues that there was no material alteration of the legal relationship between the parties in the N.M. case because, although the hearing officer found that N.M. was denied a FAPE, the only relief awarded plaintiff was an MDT/IEP meeting where a Spanish-English translator would be present, which DCPS is already required to provide by law. Def's Opp'n, 19–20; see also Pl.'s Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 1c, 11, May 14, 2013. In support of this argument, Defendant cites to White, et al., v. District of Columbia, where Judge Huvelle found no material alteration of the legal relationship when a hearing officer found there was no denial of a FAPE and ordered a new MDT/IEP meeting as the sole relief. No. 11–cv–1292, at *9 (D.D.C. June 18, 2012). However, in White the ordered MDT/IEP meeting would have occurred regardless of whether the Plaintiff or the Defendant prevailed at the administrative hearing. White, No. 11–cv–1292 at *9 (); see also McCrary v. Dist. of Columbia, 791 F.Supp.2d 191, 199 (D.D.C.2011) ().
That is not the case here. The hearing officer ordered a new MDT/IEP meeting for N.M. precisely because the Plaintiff met its burden of proof and prevailed on a substantive issue: that N.M's parent was “denied the right to meaningful participation in Student's 3/10/08 IEP meeting when DCPS failed to provide adequate translation from English to Spanish.” Pl.'s Mot., Ex 1c, 9. And as the hearing officer noted, the denial of this procedural right at the meeting was “significant because Parent wanted and still wants, another educational placement for Student.” Pl.'s Mot., Ex 1c, 9. Had the hearing officer found that the Defendant prevailed on this procedural issue, the 3/10/08 IEP meeting would have been procedurally adequate, and no new meeting would have been required. Thus, unlike in White and McCrary, an...
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...prevailing party;1 and second, the Court must establish whether the fees requested are reasonable. See, e.g., McAllister v. District of Columbia, 21 F.Supp.3d 94, 99 (D.D.C.2014) ; Jackson v. District of Columbia, 696 F.Supp.2d 97, 101 (D.D.C.2010). The fairness of a plaintiff's request for......