In re Espy

341 F.3d 585, 2003 WL 22076032
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in In re Espy. Read the opinion of the Court — 319 F.3d 526
Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit·Decided September 9, 2003·No. Division No. 94-2·Published

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

ORDER

This matter coming to be heard and being heard before the Special Division of the Court upon the application of Ellen W. Haas for reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to section 593(f) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as amended, 28 U.S.C. § 591 et seq. (2000), and it appearing to the court for the rea[587]*587sons set forth more fully in the opinion filed contemporaneously herewith, that the petition is in part well taken, it is hereby

ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that the United States reimburse Ellen W. Haas for attorneys’ fees and expenses that she incurred during the investigation by Independent Counsel Donald C. Smaltz in the amount of $15,386.44.

ON APPLICATION FOR ATTORNEYS’

FEES

Ellen W. Haas petitions this Court under section 593(f) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as amended, 28 U.S.C. §§ 591-599 (2000) (the Act), for reimbursement of attorneys’ fees in the amount of $31,099.66 that she incurred during and as a result of the investigation conducted by Independent Counsel Donald C. Smaltz (hereinafter IC or OIC). Because we find that Haas has established her entitlement under the statutory criteria for reimbursement of a portion of the fees we will, for the reasons set forth more fully below, allow recovery of $15,386.44.

BACKGROUND

Donald C. Smaltz was appointed independent counsel in September 1994 to investigate allegations of improper gratuities received by Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy from Tyson Foods, Inc., and other organizations and individuals having business before the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The investigation lasted several years and pursued, inter alia, allegations of illegal gifts and gratuities to USDA officials, the concealment of gratuities from federal investigators, and election law violations. Ultimately, the IC’s investigation resulted in the indictment of 19 individuals and business entities, 13 of whom were convicted of criminal misconduct. One of those individuals was Richard Douglas, an executive and lobbyist for Sun-Diamond Growers of California. The IC obtained a conviction of Douglas for giving Espy gratuities, which was later overturned on venue grounds. Espy was indicted on 39 counts for, inter alia, accepting gifts in violation of his obligations as a public official, but was acquitted on all counts.

Ellen W. Haas, the fee petitioner here, was the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services under Secretary Espy. While investigating Espy on allegations of receiving improper gratuities from persons subject to regulation by the USDA, the IC looked into the relationship between Haas, Douglas, and Douglas’s girlfriend Patricia Kear-ney. Apparently, Haas’s office issued Kearney a sole source consulting contract for approximately $25,000. At about the same time Haas had social dinners on two occasions with Kearney and Douglas for which Haas made only a nominal contribution towards the bill. The IC subsequently began investigating Haas for possible gratuities offenses, calling her before the grand jury. The IC became concerned that Haas’s statements before the grand jury concerning her contract with Kear-ney’s office and her possible receipt of gratuities were less than fully candid. Haas was then informed that she was a subject of the IC’s investigation. Nevertheless, she was never indicted.

Pursuant to section 593(f)(1) of the Act, Haas has now petitioned this court for reimbursement of the attorneys’ fees in the amount of $31,099.66 that she incurred during the IC’s investigation. As directed by section 593(f)(2) of the Act, we forwarded copies of Haas’s fee petition to the Attorney General and the IC and requested written evaluations of the petition. The court expresses its appreciation to the IC and the Attorney General for submitting [588]*588these evaluations, which we have given due consideration in arriving at the decision announced herein.

DISCUSSION

The Independent Counsel statute provides:

Upon the request of an individual who is the subject of an investigation conducted by an independent counsel pursuant to this chapter, the division of the court may, if no indictment is brought against such individual pursuant to that investigation, award reimbursement for those reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by that individual during that investigation which would not have been incurred but for the requirements of this chapter.

28 U.S.C. § 593(f)(1). Accordingly, in order to obtain an attorneys’ fees award under the statute, a petitioner must show that all of the following requirements are met: 1) the petitioner is a “subject” of the investigation; 2) the fees were incurred “during” the investigation; 3) the fees would not have been incurred “but for” the requirements of the Act; and 4) the fees are “reasonable.” See In re North (Dutton Fee Application), 11 F.3d 1075, 1077-82 (D.C.Cir., Spec.Div., 1993) (per curiam). The petitioner “bears the burden of establishing all elements of [her] entitlement.” In re North (Reagan Fee Application), 94 F.3d 685, 690 (D.C.Cir., Spec.Div., 1996) (per curiam). There appears to be no disagreement that Haas was a “subject” of the IC’s investigation and that her fees were incurred “during” the investigation. We will therefore limit our discussion to the “but for” and “reasonable” requirements.

1. “But for”

Haas claims that she would not have incurred attorneys’ fees “but for” the Act because the Independent Counsel’s investigation subjected her to a more rigorous application of the criminal law than is applied to other citizens. See In re Meese, 907 F.2d 1192, 1201 (D.C.Cir., Spec.Div., 1990) (per curiam); In re Sealed Case, 890 F.2d 451, 454 (D.C.Cir., Spec.Div., 1989) (per curiam). In support of this proposition Haas notes that she incurred the fees in question because the IC was “unrestrained by the considerations of finite resources and competing law enforcement priorities,” and that “[i]t is inconceivable that a U.S. Attorney’s office with limited time and resources would have investigated whether [she] feloniously under-reimbursed Douglas.”

In his evaluation, the IC disputes Haas’s contention that he pursued her more aggressively than other prosecutors would have done, pointing out that Haas was investigated not only for her possible receipt of illegal gratuities but also because it appeared that she had not been fully truthful in her grand jury testimony concerning the matter. Citing In re Pierce (Kisner Fee Application), 178 F.3d 1356, 1361 (D.C.Cir., Spec.Div., 1999) (per curiam), and In re North (Corr Fee Application),

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