Powers v. Indiana Dept. of Educ., Div. of Special Educ., 94-2855

• Decision Date: 28 July 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-2855,94-2855
• Citation: 61 F.3d 552
• Parties: 102 Ed. Law Rep. 67, 12 A.D.D. 417 Judith POWERS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 552

61 F.3d 552

102 Ed. Law Rep. 67, 12 A.D.D. 417

Judith POWERS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 94-2855.

United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit.

Argued Feb. 9, 1995.

Decided July 28, 1995.

Daniel R. Goeglein (argued), Lyons & Truitt, Valparaiso, IN, for plaintiff-appellant.

Rebecca S. Bowman and Richard Shevitz (argued), Office of the Atty. Gen., Agency Litigation, Indianapolis, IN, for defendant-appellee.

Before FAIRCHILD, CUMMINGS and CUDAHY, Circuit Judges.

CUDAHY, Circuit Judge.

This is an action for attorneys' fees brought under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq. Powers, the parent of a disabled child, Ashley Hardin, brings this claim to recover fees incurred while challenging the educational placement suggested for Ashley by the school district. The Indiana Department of Education denied Powers' request for attorneys' fees, leading her to file this action in the district court. The district court dismissed the suit as time barred. We affirm.

I. STATUTORY FRAMEWORK OF THE IDEA

This claim arises under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.. The IDEA is designed to ensure that disabled children receive "a free appropriate public education." 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400(c). It provides federal funding to states for educational programs for disabled children. It also establishes a system of procedural protections to ensure that parents, teachers and local education agencies work together to provide an appropriate education for children with disabilities.

Among these procedural safeguards are the requirements that parents be notified of any proposed change in the "identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child" and that they be permitted to challenge "any matter relating to" the evaluation and education of the child. 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415(b)(1)(C). Parents have the right to have their complaints considered in "an impartial due process hearing," and may appeal the outcome to the state educational agency if the initial hearing is held at the local or regional level. 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415(b-c). Any party still unsatisfied with the result of this appeal then has the right to "bring a civil action ... in any State court ... or in a district court of the United States." 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415(e).

The IDEA also provides that "in any action or proceeding brought under this subsection, the court may award reasonable attorneys' fees ... to the parents or guardian of a child or youth with a disability who is the prevailing party." 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415(e)(4)(B). However, the Act does not provide a statute of limitations for educational appeals or for a claim for attorneys' fees.

II. FACTS

Ashley Hardin is a disabled child who receives special education services at the Institute of Logopedics in Wichita, Kansas. These services are funded, in part, by the State of Indiana as part of its special education program. In June of 1992, the Indiana Department of Special Education (the Department) sent a letter to Ashley's mother, Judith Powers, informing her that Ashley should be placed at another facility located in Indiana. In response to this letter, Powers contacted an attorney to help her challenge the proposed change of placement. The attorney, Christina Sepiol, then requested that the Department provide a due process hearing, as required under 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415, on the question whether Ashley could stay at the Logopedics Institute. Sepiol also indicated to the Department that Powers would be amenable to mediation of the dispute.

A due process hearing date was apparently set for the end of August or beginning of September, but the Department contacted Powers before that time to suggest mediation of the dispute. The mediation took place in Indianapolis on August 17, 1992. It resulted in an agreement between the parties that Ashley would remain at the Institute of Logopedics for the 1992-3 school year and that the Department would pursue alternative residential services for the future. The parties also agreed that the Department would issue a letter stating that Ashley would remain at the Institute and that upon receipt of that letter, Powers would withdraw her request for a due process hearing. The agreed upon letter was sent August 18, 1992, and Powers withdrew her request for a hearing on August 24, 1992.

The August 18th letter from the Department contained the first discussion of attorneys' fees. In that letter the Department stated that "the determination of attorneys' fees is not permitted through mediation and cannot be part of that agreement." R.O.A. 12. It also specified that the Department was aware that Sepiol would be making a demand to the Department for attorneys' fees, and "should that demand be denied, you have the right to petition a civil court for a determination in this regard." R.O.A. 12.

Following the receipt of this letter, Sepiol sent the Department a letter requesting payment of attorneys' fees under 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1415(e)(4). The Department denied the request for fees in a letter dated October 16, 1992. This letter again confirmed that Sepiol had a "right to initiate an action in civil court for a determination regarding attorney's fees," but did not give any warning as to the statute of limitations for initiating such an action. R.O.A. 10, Ex.E. Powers then obtained another attorney because Sepiol was not licensed to practice in Indiana, and eventually filed a civil complaint for payment of attorneys' fees in the District Court on June 7, 1993. Both parties moved for summary judgment and the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the Department.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Statute of Limitations

Powers is seeking attorneys' fees under Sec. 1415(e)(4) of the IDEA, which provides that "in any action or proceeding brought under this subsection, the court, in its discretion, may award reasonable attorneys' fees as part of the costs to the parents or guardian of a handicapped child or youth who is the prevailing party." ¹ The Department argues, however, that attorneys' fees cannot be granted here because the claim is time barred.

The IDEA does not itself provide a limitations period for appeals. When, as here, Congress fails to provide a statute of limitations in federal statutes, we generally borrow a limitations period from an analogous state cause of action. Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 266-67, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 1942, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985); Dell, 32 F.3d 1053, 1058 (7th Cir.1994). While this practice has been called "at best uncertain and at worst arbitrary," Dell, 32 F.3d at 1058 (citing McCartney C. v. Herrin Community Unit Sch. Dist. No. 4, 21 F.3d 173, 174 (7th Cir.1994)), "the settled practice has [nevertheless] been to adopt a local time limitation as federal law if it is not inconsistent with federal law or policy to do so." Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 266-67, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 1942, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985); see also, Dell v. Board of Educ., 32 F.3d 1053, 1058 (7th Cir.1994); Spiegler v. District of Columbia, 866 F.2d 461, 463 (D.C.Cir.1989). We must therefore determine whether Indiana has an analogous statute of limitations which may be applied, and, if so, whether its use would be consistent with the policies and goals of the IDEA. See, e.g., Dell, 32 F.3d at 1059; Spiegler v. Dist. of Columbia, 866 F.2d 461 (D.C.Cir.1989); Scokin v. Texas, 723 F.2d 432 (5th Cir.1984).

To evaluate whether Indiana has an analogous statute of limitations, we must first "characterize the essence of the claim in the pending case, and decide which state statute provides the most appropriate limiting principle." Wilson, 471 U.S. at 268, 105 S.Ct. at 1942-43; Tokarcik v. Forest Hills School District, 665 F.2d 443 (3d Cir.1981), cert. denied, 458 U.S. 1121, 102 S.Ct. 3508, 73 L.Ed.2d 1383 (1982). However, an action for attorneys' fees presents a unique problem in that it may arguably be characterized as either an independent cause of action under Sec. 1415(e)(4)(B), or as ancillary to the judicial review of the administrative decision on educational placement. Reed v. Mokena Sch. Dist., 41 F.3d 1153 (7th Cir.1994); Dell, 32 F.3d at 1062. In other words, the attorneys' fees claim could simply be considered an independent claim for money damages or it could be seen as just one part of the underlying dispute over the child's educational placement or educational plan.

If seen as an independent cause of action, a claim for attorneys' fees under Sec. 1415 is arguably analogous to a tort action seeking money damages, ² which usually carries a comparatively long statute of limitations. See, e.g., Janzen v. Knox County Bd. of Educ., 790 F.2d 484 (6th Cir.1986) (3 year statute of limitations for services performed but not paid for most analogous to claim for reimbursement of private education costs); Scokin, 723 F.2d 432 (2 year statute of limitations for general tort claims most analogous to claim demanding placement of child in private educational institution and reimbursement for past costs); Tokarcik, 665 F.2d 443 (2 year statute of limitations for actions to recover damages for injuries caused by wrongful act or negligence most analogous to action based on failure to provide catheterization).

If viewed as part of the administrative review of the underlying education dispute, however, the claim for attorneys' fees is more analogous to statutes dealing with judicial review of state agency decisions. Dell, 32 F.3d at 1063. The limitations period for such agency review is generally quite short. See, e.g., Dell, 32 F.3d 1053 (120 day limitation for judicial review of administrative decision under Illinois School Code most appropriate for claim for reimbursement of testing costs and attorneys' fees); Spiegler, 866 F.2d 461 (30 day limit for review of agency decision most analogous to appeal of educational...