Does, K.L. and J.L. v. Vilonia School District

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS CENTRAL DIVISION DOES, K.L. and J.L. PLAINTIFFS No. 4:25-cv-284-DPM VILONIA SCHOOL DISTRICT DEFENDANT ORDER The only issue in this IDEA case is how much the District must pay the prevailing parents’ lawyers.

Costs. The Court reduces the proposed amount. Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(d)(1). The copies, printing, and filing fee are recoverable. 28 U.S.C. § 1920. The binders and travel costs are not. Travel costs, though, are routinely billed to clients in this district, and will be awarded as part of the fee. The Court awards $593.86 in costs.

Attorney’s Fee. Given counsel’s experience, and the nature of the issues presented, the reasonable hourly rate for Ms. Caldwell is $275.

Considering these same factors, $250 is a reasonable hourly rate for Mr. Fendley. And $100 is reasonable for Ms. Hogancamp’s paralegal work.

The Court must calculate the lodestar—those rates multiplied by the hours reasonably spent. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433 (1983).

The starting point is counsel’s billed time.

Theresa Caldwell 73.25 x $275/hour = $20,143.75 Clay Fendley 18.18 x $250/hour = $4,545.00 Darlene Hogancamp =2.31 x $100/hour = $231.00 $24,919.75 Doc. 13-3.

To calculate the lodestar, and eventually a reasonable fee, the Court must make another adjustment. Caldwell did not include her time spent on this fee-only federal case. That was reasonable. Hensley, 461 U.S. at 434-37. The administrative case was fact-intensive, spanned several years, and involved many exhibits and witnesses. Doc. 1 at 8-50. The material facts developed over the years. The Court does not see how the whole could have been trimmed down much. But Ms. Caldwell’s block billing practice is disfavored. E.g., Doc. 73 at 6 in Jacksonville North Pulaski School District v. D.M., No. 4:20-cv-256-BRW (E.D. Ark. 20 July 2021). To account for some excessive time, the Court discounts the billed amount by ten percent. The revised number is $22,427.78. With the addition of the travel expenses, the reasonable attorney’s fee is $22,577.30. That is the lodestar and the bottom line.

Motion for attorney’s fees and costs, Doc. 13, partly granted and partly denied as specified. The Court awards a reasonable attorney's fee of $22,577.30 and costs of $593.86 for a total of $23,171.16. Judgment, taxing the entire award as costs, will issue. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3)(B)(i).

-2- So Ordered.

SPYV4r.

D.P. Marshall Jr. United States District Judge