Bice v. United States

84 Fed. Cl. 173, 2008 U.S. Claims LEXIS 288, 2008 WL 4489272
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedOctober 3, 2008
DocketNo. 02-784C
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 84 Fed. Cl. 173 (Bice v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bice v. United States, 84 Fed. Cl. 173, 2008 U.S. Claims LEXIS 288, 2008 WL 4489272 (uscfc 2008).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

BASKIR, Judge.

Currently before the Court is Plaintiffs Application for Attorney Fees filed pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412. The Government moves to dismiss the Application on the ground that a provision set forth in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, Pub.L. No. 110-161, 121 Stat. 1844 (2007), strips this Court of jurisdiction to entertain the Application. The Government argues in the alternative that Plaintiff is not entitled to attorney fees. For the reasons stated below, we DENY the Government’s Motion to Dismiss and GRANT Plaintiffs EAJA Application.

BACKGROUND

On July 12, 2002, Plaintiff Charles Bice filed a complaint in this Court as the widower and executor of the estate of Martha Bice, a deceased firefighter. Plaintiff filed suit to appeal a decision of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) denying his application for survivor benefits under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefit Act of 1976 (PSOBA), Pub.L. No. 94-430, 90 Stat. 1346 (1976) (codified at 42 U.S.C. § 3796), which was filed in [175]*175December 1997. In an opinion issued on July 29, 2004, we reversed the BJA’s decision and remanded the case to the BJA for further proceedings consistent with our opinion. Bice v. United States, 61 Fed.Cl. 420 (2004) (Bice I).

Upon remand, the BJA again denied Plaintiffs PSOBA claim. On March 7, 2006, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record in this Court to appeal BJA’s decision. On September 6, 2006, we ruled once again in favor of Plaintiff on the merits. We found that the smoke inhalation suffered by Mrs. Bice while on duty was a direct and proximate cause of her death and that Plaintiff was therefore entitled to survivor benefits under the PSOBA. Accordingly, we reversed the BJA’s redetermination on remand and ordered final judgment in favor of Plaintiff in the amount of $100,000.00. Bice v. United States, 72 Fed.Cl. 432 (2006) (Bice II). The Government appealed our decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which summarily affirmed our ruling on July 12, 2007. At all times during the litigation of Plaintiffs claim before this Court and his appeal to the Federal Circuit, Plaintiff was represented on a pro bono basis by Columbus Community Legal Services, a clinical education program run by the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

On October 9, 2007, Plaintiff filed an Application for Attorney Fees with the Federal Circuit pursuant to the EAJA. Plaintiff sought $7,195.20 for legal services rendered in connection with his successful defense before the Federal Circuit of the Government’s appeal from the judgment of this Court and for expenses related to preparing the EAJA Application. Fed. Cir. EAJA App. at 1 (Attachment A to Defendant’s Request for Stay of Plaintiffs Request for Fees (Def. Mot. to Stay)). The Federal Circuit summarily denied Plaintiffs EAJA Application on October 23, 2007, without requesting a response from the Government and without stating the basis for its denial. Plaintiff filed a Motion for Reconsideration with the Federal Circuit on November 6, 2007. The Federal Circuit summarily denied Plaintiffs Motion for Reconsideration on November 26, 2007, again without requesting a response from the Government or stating the grounds for its decision.

On October 10, 2007, one day after filing his EAJA Application with the Federal Circuit, Plaintiff timely filed an Application for Attorney Fees in this Court. Plaintiff seeks $10,037.77 in fees for legal services rendered in his successful action for survivor benefits under the PSOBA in this Court and for fees related to preparing the COFC EAJA Application. COFC EAJA App. at 1.

The Government moved this Court to stay proceedings pertaining to Plaintiffs COFC EAJA Application on November 13, 2007. See Def. Mot. to Stay at 1. The Government sought this stay on the ground that Plaintiffs Motion for Reconsideration of the Federal Circuit’s denial of attorney fees in that court was still pending. Id. The Government’s Motion to Stay was rendered moot on November 26, 2007, when the Federal Circuit summarily denied Plaintiffs Motion for Reconsideration.

Thereafter, on January 4, 2007, the Government moved this Court to dismiss Plaintiffs COFC EAJA Application for lack of jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims (RCFC). Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss COFC EAJA Application (Def. Mot. to Dismiss) at 1. We turn now to the Government’s Motion to Dismiss, then address the merits of Plaintiff’s COFC EAJA Application.

DISCUSSION

I. The Government’s Motion to Dismiss

A. Standard of Review

RCFC 12(b)(1) governs dismissal of claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. When a defendant challenges this Court’s jurisdiction pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(1), the plaintiff must show by a preponderance of the evidence that jurisdiction is proper. Reynolds v. Army & Air Force Exch. Serv. (Reynolds), 846 F.2d 746, 748 (Fed.Cir.1988). In deciding the motion, the Court must accept as true any undisputed allegations of fact made by [176]*176the non-moving party and draw all reasonable inferences from those facts in the non-moving party’s favor. Henke v. United States, 60 F.3d 795, 797 (Fed.Cir.1995); Reynolds, 846 F.2d at 747.

B. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008

The Government moves to dismiss Plaintiffs EAJA Application invoking a specific provision of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (2008 CAA). See Def. Mot. to Dismiss at 1-2. The 2008 CAA, which became effective on December 26, 2007, grants “exclusive jurisdiction” over appeals of final decisions of the BJA to the Federal Circuit, including “any related matters, pending.” Division B, Title II of the 2008 CAA states:

Provided, That, hereafter, funds available to conduct appeals under section 1205(c) of the [Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of] 1968[], which includes all claims processing, shall be available also for the same under subpart 2 of such part L and under any statute authorizing payment of benefits described under subpart 1 thereof, and for appeals from final decisions of the Bureau [of Justice Appeals] (under such part or any such statute) to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which shall have exclusive jurisdiction thereof (including those, and any related matters, pending),____

121 Stat. 1844, 1912 (codified at 42 U.S.C. § 3796c-2) (emphasis added). The Government argues that the plain language of this legislative rider vests the Federal Circuit with exclusive jurisdiction not only of appeals of final BJA decisions, but also of EAJA Applications which are, in the Government’s view, “related matters, pending.” Def. Mot.

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Bluebook (online)
84 Fed. Cl. 173, 2008 U.S. Claims LEXIS 288, 2008 WL 4489272, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bice-v-united-states-uscfc-2008.