Information International Associates, Inc. v. United States

75 Fed. Cl. 656, 2007 U.S. Claims LEXIS 72, 2007 WL 840089
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedMarch 16, 2007
DocketNo. 04-1489C
StatusPublished

This text of 75 Fed. Cl. 656 (Information International Associates, Inc. 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
Information International Associates, Inc. v. United States, 75 Fed. Cl. 656, 2007 U.S. Claims LEXIS 72, 2007 WL 840089 (uscfc 2007).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING ATTORNEY’S FEES AND OTHER EXPENSES

BRADEN, Judge.

On October 31, 2006, the court issued a Memorandum Opinion and Final Order in this case, holding that Plaintiff established the elements of unilateral mistake as a matter of law, entering a judgment in favor of Plaintiff, and ordering reformation of the contract to reflect the correct amount of Plaintiffs bid. See Information Int’l Assocs. v. United States, 74 Fed.Cl. 192, 193 (2006).

I. BACKGROUND.

On December 5, 2006, Plaintiff filed an Application for Attorney’s Fees and Costs, pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412. Under the EAJA, however, a prevailing party may only submit an application “within thirty days after a final judgment.” See 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B). The EAJA defines a final judgment as one that is “final and not appealable.” See 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(G). The time for a final appeal expired on December 30, 2006. Therefore, instead of dismissing Plaintiffs EAJA application as premature, the court granted the Government’s December 26, 2006 Motion for an Enlargement of Time to respond thirty days after the earhest date on which the application properly could have been filed. Accordingly, on January 29, 2007, the Government filed a Response (“Gov’t Resp.”), together with three exhibits. On February 15, 2007, Plaintiff filed a Reply (“Pl.Reply”).

II. DISCUSSION.

A. The Relevant Statute.

The Equal Access to Justice Act authorizes:

a prevailing party other than the United States fees and other expenses ... incurred by that party in any civil action ... including proceedings for judicial review of agency action, brought by or against the United States in any court having jurisdiction of that action, unless the court finds that the position of the United States was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust.

28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A).

B. Governing Precedent.

The EAJA “allows a prevailing party to recover attorney’s fees, unless the position of the [Gjovernment was substantially justified.” Bowey v. West, 218 F.3d 1373, 1374 (Fed.Cir.2000) (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)). Prevailing party status, however, does not automatically render the Government’s position not substantially justified. See Scarborough v. Principi, 541 U.S. 401, 415, 124 S.Ct. 1856, 158 L.Ed.2d 674 (2004) (holding that “Congress did not want the ‘substantially justified’ standard to be read to raise a presumption that the Government position was not substantially justified simply because it [658]*658lost the case[.]” (citations omitted)). The United States Supreme Court has defined “substantially justified,” to mean: “justified in substance or in the main-—that is, justified to a degree that could satisfy a reasonable person.” Pierce v. Underwood, 487 U.S. 552, 565, 108 S.Ct. 2541, 101 L.Ed.2d 490 (1988) (holding that the Government’s position must have “a reasonable basis in both law and fact.” (citations omitted)); see also Smith v. Principi, 343 F.3d 1358, 1362-63 (Fed.Cir.2003) (“In conducting a ‘totality of the circumstances’ inquiry, a fact-finder will naturally and properly focus on those circumstances that are ‘relevant,’ and in particular on any circumstances that may be ‘determinative.’ ” (citations omitted)); Massie v. United States, 226 F.3d 1318, 1321 (Fed.Cir.2000) (“As a waiver of sovereign immunity, the EAJA is interpreted narrowly. But this is not a talisman for permitting the [Gjovernment to avoid liability in all cases.”).

The Government has the burden to demonstrate that its position was substantially justified. See Scarborough, 541 U.S. 401 at 414, 124 S.Ct. 1856, 158 L.Ed.2d 674 (“The burden of establishing ‘that the position of the United States was substantially justified,’ ... must be shouldered by the Government.” (citations omitted)); see also RAMCOR Servs. Group v. United States, 185 F.3d 1286, 1290 (Fed.Cir.1999) (holding that, although the EAJA is not a mandatory fee-shifting device, the burden is on the Government to prove that the litigation and agency position was reasonable in law and fact). The term “ ‘position of the United States’ refers to the [Gjovernment’s position throughout the dispute, including not only its litigating position but also the agency’s administrative position.” Doty v. United States, 71 F.3d 384, 386 (Fed.Cir.1995) (internal citations omitted); see also Chiu v. United States, 948 F.2d 711, 715 (Fed.Cir.1991) (“[Tjrial courts are instructed to look at the entirety of the [Gjovernment’s eonduct[.j”).

C. The Government’s Position Was “Substantially Justified.”

In this case, the Government does not dispute that Plaintiff is a “prevailing party.” See Gov’t Resp. at 2. Therefore, the sole issue before this court is whether the Government’s position in this case was “substantially justified.” See 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A).

1. The Government’s Arguments.

The Government argues that its position was substantially justified, because the court agreed that Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) 14.407-1 did not require the contracting officer (“CO”) to compare the Initial and Final Price Proposals, and instead relied on evidence that Plaintiff never argued before the court. See Information Int’l Assocs., 74 Fed.Cl. at 206; see also 48 C.F.R. § 14.407-1 (“After the opening of bids, contracting officers shall examine all bids for mistakes”). The Government notes that the court only “determined that the CO should have been alerted to a possible error in Plaintiffs Malmstrom AFB pricing, as a result of the CO’s preparation of ‘Abstract of Proposal/Quotations,’ to compare Plaintiffs and Margon’s final monthly and yearly proposed prices for the five AFBS.” Id.

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Related

Pierce v. Underwood
487 U.S. 552 (Supreme Court, 1988)
Scarborough v. Principi
541 U.S. 401 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Hong-Yee Chiu v. The United States
948 F.2d 711 (Federal Circuit, 1991)
Ramcor Services Group, Inc. v. United States
185 F.3d 1286 (Federal Circuit, 1999)
Bowey v. West
218 F.3d 1373 (Federal Circuit, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
75 Fed. Cl. 656, 2007 U.S. Claims LEXIS 72, 2007 WL 840089, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/information-international-associates-inc-v-united-states-uscfc-2007.