DocketNumber: Case No. 15–cv–01802 (APM)
Citation Numbers: 298 F. Supp. 3d 4
Judges: Introduction, Mehta
Filed Date: 1/12/2018
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/25/2022
Plaintiff Juanishia Lee, acting on behalf of her minor child, J.K., seeks an award of attorneys' fees and costs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA") for her counsel's successful representation of J.K. during administrative proceedings and in the instant litigation. Plaintiff contends that she is entitled to $103,097.75 in fees and costs. Defendant District of Columbia does not contest Plaintiff's status as a prevailing party under the IDEA or the number of hours spent by her counsel to represent J.K., but does assert that the proposed hourly rates for Plaintiff's counsel are not supported by adequate evidence and therefore are unreasonable. Defendant asks the court to award Plaintiff no more than $77,415.44 in fees and costs.
After considering the parties' submissions and the relevant law, the court grants in part and denies in part Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney Fees. The court awards attorneys' fees and costs to Plaintiff, calculated at an hourly rate of 75% of the USAO Matrix, in the amount of $77,616.50.
II. BACKGROUND
"The IDEA requires the District [of Columbia] to provide disabled children with a 'free appropriate public education.' " Eley v. District of Columbia ,
In this case, Plaintiff's minor child, J.K., became eligible for special services education under the IDEA as a result of severe injuries resulting from a shooting in June 2014. See Def.'s Cross-Mot. for Summ. J. & Opp'n to Pl.'s Mot. for Summ. J., ECF No. 12, at 4. On June 5, 2015, Plaintiff filed an administrative due process complaint with the State Superintendent of Education's Office of Dispute Resolution, claiming that the District of Columbia Public Schools ("DCPS") had failed to provide J.K. a FAPE as required by the IDEA. See Pl.'s Mot. for Attorney Fees, ECF No. 22 [hereinafter Pl.'s Mot.], at 3;
Notwithstanding these findings, the Hearing Officer declined to award J.K. any compensatory education. The Hearing Officer so held because Plaintiff "did not offer any evidence at the due process hearing of 'the type and quantum of compensatory education' needed to place [J.K.] 'in the same position he would have occupied but for the [ ] violations of the IDEA.' " Id. at *1 (alterations in original) (quoting ECF No. 9-1 at 24-25). Plaintiff appealed the Hearing Officer's denial of compensatory education by filing the instant action. See Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶¶ 1-2.
After briefing cross-motions for summary judgment, the parties agreed that the matter should be remanded to the Hearing Officer to fashion an appropriate award of compensatory education, but they disagreed as to how the Hearing Officer should proceed on remand. See Lee ,
III. LEGAL STANDARD
To protect the right to a FAPE, "Congress enacted a fee-shifting provision entitling a prevailing party ... to reasonable attorneys' fees." Price v. District of Columbia ,
The burden of establishing entitlement to a fee award under the IDEA rests with the fee applicant. See Reed v. District of Columbia ,
*9Covington v. District of Columbia ,
As noted above, Defendant does not challenge Plaintiff's status as a prevailing party or the hours spent by Plaintiff's lawyers to represent her son. See Def.'s Opp'n to Pl.'s Mot. for Attorney Fees, ECF No. 24 [hereinafter Def.'s Opp'n]. Accordingly, the court's discussion focuses only on the parties' dispute as to the reasonableness of Plaintiff's requested hourly rate.
IV. DISCUSSION
Plaintiff in this case seeks an award of fees for the services of three lawyers: Carolyn Houck, Charles Moran, and Stevie Nabors. Pl.'s Mot. at 5. Houck is a solo practitioner in St. Michaels, Maryland, and Moran and Nabors are with the law firm of Moran & Associates located in Washington, D.C. Pl.'s. Mot., Ex. 4, Decl. of Charles A. Moran, ECF No. 22-6 [hereinafter Moran Decl.]; Pl.'s Mot., Ex. 5, Decl. of Carolyn Houck, ECF No. 22-7 [hereinafter Houck Decl.], ¶ 2; Pl.'s Mot., Ex. 6, Decl. of Stevie Nabors, ECF No. 22-8 [hereinafter Nabors Decl.]. From the lawyers' billing records, it appears that Houck primarily represented J.K. in the administrative proceedings and that Moran and Nabors represented J.K. only in the federal court litigation. See Pl.'s Mot., Ex. 2, ECF No. 22-4 [hereinafter Houck Billing Invoice]; Pl.'s Mot., Ex. 3, ECF No. 22-5 [hereinafter Moran Billing Invoice]. Plaintiff seeks an hourly rate of $504 for Houck, $568 for Moran, and $315 for Nabors. See
Defendant makes two basic objections to the fees sought by Plaintiff, although the two merge into one. First, Defendant argues that "the proposed hourly rates for Plaintiff's attorney are unreasonable and Plaintiff offers an insufficient factual basis to support these rates." Def.'s Opp'n at 3.
To be reasonable, an IDEA fee award must be based on "rates prevailing in the community in which the action or *10proceeding arose for the kind and quality of services furnished." See
In this case, Plaintiff attaches to her Motion the following evidence to justify the hourly rates she proposes: (1) her counsel's declarations, (2) their billing invoices, and (3) the USAO Matrix. See generally Pl.'s Mot., Exs. 2-7, ECF Nos. 22-4-22-9. Additionally, in her brief, she asks the court to consider, by reference, (1) a market survey conducted by Dr. Laura Malowane, an economist, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice in a different IDEA case, see Statement of Interest of U.S., Eley v. District of Columbia ,
Plaintiff also submits additional evidence with her reply brief, but the court declines to consider it. Plaintiff offers five declarations from other IDEA practitioners, see Pl.'s Reply to Def.'s Opp'n to Pl.'s Mot. for Attorneys' Fees, ECF No. 26 [hereinafter Pl.'s Reply], Exs. 1-5, ECF Nos. 26-2-26-6, and she asks the court to consider evidence submitted in three other cases in this District, id. at 5. The court will not consider either the evidence attached to her Reply or the evidence in the cases she cites, however, because Plaintiff offers it for the first time with her reply brief.
A. The Attorneys' Billing Practices
The court starts with Plaintiff's attorneys' billing practices. See Eley ,
On that score, the proffered attorney declarations are quite thin. Houck says only that she "match[es] [her] hourly rates to those in what is known as the [USAO] attorney's fees matrix." Houck Decl. ¶ 4. Presumably that is Houck's practice in IDEA cases, but she does not say so specifically. Moreover, assuming she is referring to IDEA representations, Houck does not say whether her practice of tying her rate to the USAO Matrix is only for contingency fee clients or all clients, including those who pay their way.
Moran's and Nabors' declarations are only slightly more detailed. Moran explains that his firm's billing practice since 2014 has been to adjust rates according to various fee matrices. Moran Decl. ¶¶ 7-8, 23. Before January 1, 2014, the firm pegged its rates to the USAO's Laffey Matrix, but after that date set them according to the Legal Services Index-based Laffey Matrix. Id. ¶ 8. After the Circuit decision in Eley , however, Moran says that his firm switched back to the USAO Laffey Matrix to "ensure that our fees were based on 'rates prevailing in the community.' " Id. ¶ 23 (quoting
Equally important is what Moran and Nabors do not say. Like Houck, neither lawyer details whether their firm uses the USAO Matrix rates for hourly-paying IDEA clients. Although Nabors attests that, in 2017, he "ha[s] been paid [USAO Matrix] rates by clients on matters concerning *12education law, employment law, and labor rights," Nabors Decl. ¶ 6, that statement does not distinguish between judicial fee awards and hourly-paying IDEA clients. Thus, the court has no evidence before it that any of Plaintiff's counsel charge, and receive from, their hourly-paying IDEA clients the USAO Matrix rates.
In summary, Plaintiff's counsel attest to aligning their rates with the USAO Matrix in IDEA cases, but offer no more specifics about their billing practices.
B. The Attorneys' Skill, Experience, and Reputation
Next, the court considers the proof submitted of Plaintiff's attorneys' "skill, experience, and reputation." Eley ,
Other than reciting her educational background, Houck says nothing about her experience in IDEA cases. Houck Decl. ¶ 5. She does not disclose, for instance, the number of years she has worked on IDEA cases in the District of Columbia, the percentage of her practice devoted to IDEA cases, nor the percentage of her IDEA practice that is paid clients versus contingency-fee cases. In short, the court knows little about Houck's "skill, experience, and reputation" other than her educational background and that she successfully represented J.K. in his administrative proceedings.
The court knows even less about Nabors. His declaration contains no information about his education or his experience or practice with regard to IDEA cases. The most the court can decipher about Nabors is that he successfully represented J.K. in this case, he has been with Moran & Associates since at least 2014, and he likely has done some IDEA work in the District of Columbia from 2014 until the present. Nabors Decl. ¶¶ 2-4.
Plaintiff offers more substantive information about Moran. Moran has been a member of the District of Columbia bar since 1968 and has practiced in the field of "special education law" for approximately 25 years, "especially" on matters brought under the IDEA. Moran Decl. ¶ 5. It is also apparent that Moran has significant experience with the D.C. Attorney General's office in litigating IDEA cases in the District of Columbia. Id. ¶¶ 9-20.
At bottom, Plaintiff has offered some evidence about her lawyers' skill, experience, and reputation, but she unquestionably could have presented more.
C. Prevailing Market Rate in the Community
Last, but far from least, the court arrives at the contentious issue of the prevailing market rate for similar services in the community. Although the D.C. Circuit has observed that determining the prevailing market rate is "inherently difficult," Eley ,
Perhaps because she does not cite Reed , Plaintiff has not taken either of these two paths. First, although two Circuit judges have expressed their view that IDEA cases categorically are complex federal litigation, see Reed ,
Having failed to establish that IDEA litigation qualifies as complex federal litigation, Plaintiff's remaining option is to demonstrate the prevailing market rate based on "the fees charged, and received, by IDEA litigators." Reed ,
Starting with Plaintiff's counsel's declarations, each lawyer says that he or she now charges the USAO Matrix rate. See Houck Decl. ¶ 4; Moran Decl. ¶ 24; Nabors Decl. ¶ 5. Moran and Nabors add that their firm's managing partner has twice surveyed fellow IDEA practitioners and they too charge rates consistent with the USAO Matrices. Moran Decl. ¶¶ 23-24; see also Nabors ¶¶ 4-5. But after Reed those representations carry little weight absent a showing that IDEA litigation is complex. Additionally, the survey results noted by Moran and Nabors are too indefinite, as their representations lack any supporting *14details about the rates IDEA practitioners actually charge and receive. Plaintiff's counsel's declarations therefore do not aid her cause.
Next, Plaintiff points to the market survey conducted by Dr. Laura Malowane in the Eley case post-remand. Dr. Malowane made two relevant findings. First, based on a review of 77 IDEA cases decided within a five-year period in this District Court, she found that the court awarded fees at or below the USAO Laffey Matrix rates or not at all in 93% of those cases. See U.S. Stmt. at 3, 5-6; Malowane Decl. ¶ 62. Second, using a 2014 national billing rate survey as her starting point, Dr. Malowane determined that the USAO Laffey Matrix was in line with or even exceeded the median rates in the District of Columbia market for "federal litigation." See U.S. Stmt. at 9-13; Malowane Decl. ¶¶ 18-25. Neither of those conclusions, however, helps Plaintiff in this case. Although Dr. Malowane's case survey showed that courts in this District typically award fees in IDEA cases at or below the USAO Laffey Matrix, more than three quarters of those cases involved fee awards below the USAO Laffey rates. See Malowane Decl., Ex. 7. Thus, Dr. Malowane's case survey actually undermines Plaintiff's position that the full USAO Matrix reflects the prevailing market rate in IDEA cases. Additionally, Dr. Malowane's observation that the USAO Laffey Matrix is in line with "federal litigation" rates in the District of Columbia carries little weight because Dr. Malowane's methodology involved equating "federal litigation" with a catch-all "other litigation" category used in the survey. See Malowane Decl. at 8 n.8. The prevailing rate in the District of Columbia for a generic "other litigation" category tells the court nothing about the prevailing rate specific to IDEA cases in this jurisdiction.
Finally, Plaintiff cites post- Eley cases in this District granting full USAO Matrix rates, but none are persuasive. In each of those cases, courts relied in large part on affidavits from IDEA practitioners to establish the prevailing market rate. See, e.g. , Wimbish v. District of Columbia ,
* * *
In summary, having considered the evidence submitted by Plaintiff concerning her (1) attorneys' billing practices; (2) their skill, experience, and reputation; and (3) the prevailing market rates for IDEA representation in the District of Columbia, the court finds that Plaintiff has not carried her burden to show the reasonableness of the hourly rates she requests. Having failed to establish that the full USAO Matrix rates are reasonable, the court will award fees in this case at 75% of the USAO Matrix rate, as the Circuit affirmed in Reed . See
*16Moran and Associates: $32,330.95 ($31,794.45 in fees and $536.50 in costs) Carolyn Houck: $45,285.55 ($43,893.30 in fees and $1,392.25 in costs (including travel time)). Total: $77,616.5010
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V. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the court grants in part and denies in part Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney Fees and awards $77,616.50 in attorneys' fees and costs under the IDEA.
A separate Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
Citations to Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney Fees, which also includes her Memorandum of Points and Authorities, are to the page numbers electronically generated by CM/ECF.
Citations to ECF No. 9-1 are to the page numbers electronically generated by CM/ECF.
The USAO Matrix is a matrix of hourly billing rates for attorneys and paralegals/law clerks maintained by the Civil Division of the local U.S. Attorney's Office. See USAO Matrix n.1. The rates in the matrix "were calculated from average hourly rates reported in 2011 survey data for the D.C. Metropolitan area, which rates were adjusted for inflation with the Producer Price Index-Office of Lawyers (PPI-OL) index." Id. n.2.
Citations to Defendant's Opposition, which also includes its Memorandum of Points and Authorities, are to the page numbers electronically generated by CM/ECF.
Before 2015, the USAO annually established a fees matrix based on updated hourly rates that originated from the case of Laffey v. Northwest Airlines, Inc. ,
To be fair, one of the two cases cited for the first time, Wimbish v. District of Columbia ,
Additionally, like the declarations in McAllister , the additional declarations submitted by Plaintiff do not mention any specific rates that the declarants charge IDEA clients; rather, the declarations largely chronicle the challenges facing practitioners in IDEA litigation because of the District of Columbia's fee practices. See
Plaintiff asserts in her reply brief that, through Defendant's silence in its opposition brief, Defendant conceded the skill, reputation, and experience of Plaintiff's counsel. Pl.'s Reply at 2. The court disagrees. Defendant's general contention is that Plaintiff has not presented adequate evidence to carry her burden of establishing the reasonableness of her rates requested. See Def.'s Opp'n at 4-10. The Circuit has made clear that a key element of that inquiry is the attorney's skill, experience, and reputation. See Eley ,
The court rejects Defendant's suggestion that Houck billed an excessive amount of travel time by traveling to the administrative due process hearings from her office in Maryland, see Def.'s Opp'n at 13. Cf. Coates v. District of Columbia ,
The court arrived at the total fees amount by multiplying by .75 the total fees reflected on the two billing statements submitted by counsel. See generally Houck Billing Invoice; Moran Billing Invoice.