Taylor v. Dist. of Columbia
Taylor v. Dist. of Columbia
Opinion of the Court
Shance Taylor brings this action to recover attorneys' fees and costs incurred in administrative proceedings against the District of Columbia Public Schools pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Dkt. 11. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson issued a Report and Recommendation regarding Taylor's Motion for Attorneys' Fees on June 14, 2018, Dkt. 14, and Taylor filed timely Objections to the Report and Recommendation, Dkt. 15. For the following reasons, the Court adopts in part and rejects in part Magistrate Judge Robinson's Report.
I. BACKGROUND
Taylor seeks to recover $44,293.20 in attorneys' fees and costs incurred in the underlying administrative proceeding. Dkt. 11. Magistrate Judge Robinson recommended granting Taylor's attorney's fees at the applicable Laffey matrix billing rate,
II. LEGAL STANDARD
"When a timely objection is made to a magistrate judge's findings and recommendations, this Court reviews the portions of the [Report and Recommendation] to which an objection is made de novo ...." Raja v. Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp. , No. 16-cv-0511,
III. ANALYSIS
Taylor provided information regarding the education and experience of Joseph Golinker in her Objections to the Report and Recommendation. Dkt. 15. The District argues that "[p]arties must take before the Magistrate Judge[ ] not only their best shot but all of their shots," and that Taylor is thus not entitled to introduce new evidence regarding the education and experience of "JG" to recover fees for his work. Dkt. 16 at 3 (quoting Aikens v. Shalala ,
The District cites Aikens to support its conclusion that Taylor should have only "one shot." See
Further, the District had an opportunity to present evidence in its response to discredit "JG." Instead of taking that opportunity, the District merely stated that "Plaintiff's late offering of JG's experience and background at this point, after briefing on the underlying issues has concluded, should be wholly disregarded as untimely." Dkt. 16 at 3-4. Although "[i]t would be fundamentally unfair to Defendant for the court to consider Plaintiff's new evidence" if the "late submission denie[d] Defendant the opportunity to rebut it with specific proof of its own," Lee v. Dist. of Columbia ,
Considering that evidence, the Court must determine whether Golinker qualifies as a paralegal or law clerk and, if so, what award to give for his services. The American Bar Association defines a paralegal or legal assistant as a person "qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible." McAllister v. Dist. of Columbia ,
Golinker graduated from American University Law School and is licensed to practice in New Mexico, but he bills at the paralegal rate because he is not licensed to practice in the District of Columbia. Dkt. 15 at 3. Taylor's bills list work done by Golinker that is consistent with the type of work appropriate for a paralegal. Dkt. 11-3 (listing tasks billed to "JG" including drafting legal memoranda, drafting motion to dismiss, conducting legal research, and reading and responding to emails). Further, several judges on this court have recently awarded fees for Golinker's work in similar IDEA cases. See Merrick v. Dist. of Columbia ,
Several courts have reduced the fee award when no information is given about the qualifications of the law clerk or paralegal. See Jackson v. Dist. of Columbia,
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, it is ORDERED that Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson's Report and Recommendation, Dkt. 14, is ADOPTED in part and REJECTED in part. It is further ORDERED that Taylor's Motion for Attorneys' Fees, Dkt. 11, is GRANTED IN PART and that (1) except with respect to the attorney's travel time, fees be awarded for the number of hours claimed at the attorney's applicable Laffey billing rate; (2) the attorney's claimed travel time be awarded at one-half his applicable Laffey billing rate; and (3) fees be awarded for the number of hours claimed at Joseph Golinker's applicable Laffey billing rate.
The Laffey matrix is "a schedule of charges based on years of experience developed in Laffey v. Northwest Airlines, Inc. ,
"JG" was unidentified in the motion for attorneys' fees. Dkt. 11. However, in objecting to Magistrate Judge Robinson's Report and Recommendation, Taylor makes it clear that "JG" was a law clerk named Joseph Golinker. Dkt. 15.
The District did not file any objections to Magistrate Judge Robinson's Report and Recommendation. It has thus waived any argument about whether the Laffey matrix is applicable in this case. See Local Civ. R. 72.3(b) ("Failure to file timely objections may waive appellate review of a District Court order adopting the magistrate judge's report.").
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Shance TAYLOR v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published