Smith v. Roher
| Decision Date | 07 February 1997 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 89-3258 (JHG). |
| Citation | 954 F.Supp. 359 |
| Parties | Franklin L. SMITH, Plaintiff, v. George ROHER, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
Michael Jeffrey Eig, Matthew Barry Bogin, Bogin & Eig, P.C., Washington, DC, Margaret A. Kohn, Kohn & Einstein, Washington, DC, Holly Cohen Cooper, Silver Spring, MD, for defendants.
Presently pending is the defendants' Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Costs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(4)(B) (1994). Upon consideration of the defendants' motion, the opposition thereto, the supplemental pleadings filed in accordance with this Court's Order of May 6, 1996, and the entire record herein, the defendants' motion will be granted.1 The plaintiff shall be ordered to pay the defendants $82,663.44.
I. Background
Congress enacted the IDEA to ensure that children with disabilities are provided with "free appropriate public education which emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs." 20 U.S.C. § 1400(c). Under the IDEA, a disabled child is provided with an individualized education program ("IEP"), which is based upon his or her particular needs and developed through the joint participation of the local education agency, the teacher and the parents. Id. §§ 1412(4), 1414(a)(5). The IDEA also establishes procedures for challenging decisions related to disabled children that include administrative hearings and litigation in state or federal court. Id. § 1415(e)(2).
The defendants seek attorneys' fees and costs for administrative and civil litigation based on the "stay put" provisions of the IDEA, which provide that "unless the State or local educational agency and the parents or guardian otherwise agree, the child shall remain in the then-current educational placement of such child." Id. § 1415(e). The defendants were enrolled at the Lab School of Washington during the 1988-89 school year. However, in June of 1989, the plaintiff Superintendent of School for the District of Columbia attempted to change each defendant student's placement. The defendants petitioned for a hearing at which they successfully opposed the changes. On November 2, 1989, an administrative hearing officer ordered the plaintiff to restore funding for each defendant at the Lab School.
The plaintiff Superintendent of Schools sought review of the administrative hearing officer's decision, filing suit in this Court on December 4, 1989. The case was litigated over a period of almost five years, but ultimately was dismissed as moot on November 1, 1994. Although judgment was not entered on the merits, the plaintiff was denied the relief sought and the defendants successfully preserved the administrative hearing officer's decision below.
Defendants in the civil litigation (who were the petitioners in the administrative hearing below) seek attorneys' fees and costs. Finding the defendants' initial fee petition to be inadequate, the Court ordered the defendants to provide additional information regarding the rates charged, currently and historically, the prevailing market rates, and data regarding the experience of the attorneys who provided the services in this case. See Order of May 6, 1996. The Court also provided the plaintiff with an opportunity to respond and to identify with precision the fee amounts, if any, to which it objected.
The defendants' request is broken down as follows:
Roher $ 9,647.89
Jarman $ 3,883.77
Bobier/Daveler $ 5,044.70
Mark $ 8,045.92
Jenkins v. Roher $60,261.16
Fee reply $ 900
Supplemental mem. $ 1,900
Supplemental reply $ 1,080.
Total $90,763.44
II. Discussion
The IDEA provides, in relevant part, that "[i]n any action or proceeding brought under this subsection, the court, in its discretion, may award reasonable attorneys' fees as a part of the costs to the parents or guardian of a child or youth with a disability who is the prevailing party." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(4)(B). An action or proceeding under the IDEA includes both civil litigation in federal court and administrative litigation before hearing officers. Moore v. District of Columbia, 907 F.2d 165, 176 (D.C.Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 998, 111 S.Ct. 556, 112 L.Ed.2d 563 (1990). The plain language of the statute limits an award of fees to parents and guardians who prevail. Resolving attorneys' fees matters involves determining first whether the parents (or guardians) are entitled to fees as prevailing parties and, if so, determining the appropriate amount of an award.
In this case, the defendants seek over $90,000 in fees and costs for both the administrative hearing and the subsequent civil litigation, contending that they are prevailing parties under the IDEA. The plaintiff opposes, arguing that the defendants did not prevail at the judicial level, because the Court's dismissal was not an adjudication on the merits. Moreover, according to the plaintiff, only parents and guardians who are prevailing plaintiffs, not prevailing defendants, are entitled to attorneys' fees. Additionally, the plaintiff disputes the reasonableness of the fee request.
The plaintiff does not, nor could it, object to the defendants' entitlement to fees as the prevailing party at the administrative level. Moore, 907 F.2d at 176. Instead, the plaintiff's argument is based on the parents' status as defendants in the judicial litigation and on the fact that the dismissal was based on mootness. Neither argument is persuasive.
To be eligible for attorneys' fees under the IDEA, the parent or guardian must fall within the definition of prevailing party. See Texas State Teachers Ass'n v. Garland Ind. School District, 489 U.S. 782, 789, 109 S.Ct. 1486, 1492, 103 L.Ed.2d 866 (1989); see also Farrar v. Hobby, 506 U.S. 103, 109-10, 113 S.Ct. 566, 571-72, 121 L.Ed.2d 494 (1992).2 A party prevails when it obtains a direct benefit that materially alters the legal relationship between the parties. Farrar, 506 U.S. at 111, 113 S.Ct. at 572-73; Garland, 489 U.S. at 792, 109 S.Ct. at 1493-94. The critical factor is the degree of success obtained, Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 434, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 1939-40, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983), and the "logical place to look for recovery of fees is to the losing party." Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 164, 105 S.Ct. 3099, 3104, 87 L.Ed.2d 114 (1985).
At the administrative stage, the defendants sought an administrative hearing and prevailed on their objective to restore funding at the Lab School. The plaintiff then sought to have the hearing officer's decision overturned in federal court, as it has a right to do. The defendants' objective at the judicial level shifted from one of offense to one of defense. Before this Court, they simply desired to preserve the decision below. Ultimately, they succeeded, obtaining a dismissal of the complaint after lengthy proceedings. In both the administrative and judicial fora, the defendants attained their objectives. Overall, the relationship between the parties was materially altered, and there is no denying that the defendants benefitted directly from both the hearing officer's decision of November 2, 1989, and this Court's dismissal of November 1, 1994.
The plaintiff's argument to deny the prevailing defendants fee is inconsistent with the plain text of the statute and its underlying purpose as well as the case law construing the meaning of "prevailing party." Contrary to the plaintiff's view, the statute does not limit fee awards to prevailing plaintiffs, but to prevailing parties. While the defendant parents were placed in a defensive posture because the plaintiff Superintendent of Schools sought review of the hearing officer's decision, the offensive or defensive nature of the parents' position is irrelevant. See, e.g., Rapid City School District v. Vahle, 733 F.Supp. 1364, 1370 (D.S.D.) () (emphasis added), aff'd, 922 F.2d 476, 478 (8th Cir.1990). Similarly, the defendant parents here attained their objective in this litigation: through their motion to dismiss, they preserved the status quo and thereby succeeded on a significant issue. See Hacienda La Puente Sch. Dist. v. Honig, 976 F.2d 487, 496 (9th Cir.1992) ().
Entitlement to an award of attorneys' fees under the IDEA is not limited to those proceedings in which the parents obtain a judgment on the merits. See, e.g., Borengasser v. Arkansas State Bd. of Educ., 996 F.2d 196, 199 (8th Cir.1993) (); Wheeler by Wheeler v. Towanda Area School Dist., 950 F.2d 128, 132 (3rd Cir.1991) (); E.M. v. Millville Bd. of Educ, 849 F.Supp. 312, 316-17 (D.N.J.1994) (); Capiello v. District of Columbia, 779 F.Supp. 1, 2 (D.D.C.1991) (). Fees should normally be awarded under the...
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