Kunz Construction Co. v. United States

35 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,630, 16 Cl. Ct. 431, 1989 U.S. Claims LEXIS 33, 1989 WL 19422
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedMarch 9, 1989
DocketNo. 83-84-C
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 35 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,630 (Kunz Construction Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kunz Construction Co. v. United States, 35 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,630, 16 Cl. Ct. 431, 1989 U.S. Claims LEXIS 33, 1989 WL 19422 (cc 1989).

Opinion

OPINION and ORDER

TURNER, Judge.

Kunz Construction Company, Inc., having prevailed on the merits,1 *has applied under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), for the attorney fees and expert witness expense it incurred prosecuting this contract action. Plaintiff had sought damages of $29,178.40 and was ultimately awarded $8,354.17. Kunz seeks an award of $64,492 ($64,292 for attorney fees and $200 for an expert witness report). For reasons hereafter set forth, plaintiff’s application is granted in part and denied in part. The amount of plaintiff’s award shall be determined according to principles stated below.

I

The suit for which plaintiff now seeks EAJA monies arose from its contract with defendant for the construction of a cancer treatment facility at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The treatment facility was an addition to Wilford Hall Medical Center, an Air Force hospital already in existence at Lackland. Although the $1,035,089 contract covered construction of the entire cancer treatment facility, dispute arose only with respect to one room in that facility. That room, BA-109, is a lead-lined room designed for radiation therapy. The central controversy, which became the liability issue at trial, concerned the electrical work required in room BA-109. Kunz Construction Co. v. United States, 12 Cl.Ct. 74, 75 (1987).

Apart from liability, on which plaintiff prevailed, Kunz’ suit also involved jurisdictional and damages issues. Defendant prevailed on two of the three jurisdictional questions decided by the court. Plaintiff prevailed in part on the damages issues.

II

Kunz asserts, as it must to recover under the EAJA, that it is a “prevailing party” and that the position of the United States, both at the agency and litigation levels, was not “substantially justified.” 28 U.S. C. § 2412(d)(1)(A). The government concedes that Kunz was a “prevailing party” on some issues, but urges that Kunz cannot recover fees for time it spent on motions, issues and phases of the litigation in which it did not prevail. Defendant further contends that even where plaintiff prevailed, no EAJA monies can be awarded since defendant’s position was “substantially justified” and that, in any event, “special circumstances” present in this case would render any EAJA award unjust. Id. Finally, defendant asserts that plaintiff’s application is defective because (1) hourly rates claimed are too high, (2) the total amount of the claim is excessive given the nature and outcome of the suit, and (3) fees and expenses are not adequately “allocated” to show time spent on prevailing issues.

III

It will assist analysis to set forth the principles of EAJA jurisprudence to be applied. The statute itself provides:

[A] court shall award to a prevailing party other than the United States fees [434]*434and other expenses ... incurred by that party in any civil action ... brought by or against the United States ... unless the court finds that the position of the United States was substantially justified or that special circumstances would make an award unjust.

28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A). Congress had a clear purpose when it passed the EAJA. Of paramount motivation was Congress’ concern that certain individuals and small businesses “may be deterred from seeking review of, or defending against unreasonable governmental action because of the expense involved in securing the vindication of their rights.” H.R.REP. NO. 1418, 96th Cong., 2d Sess. 5, reprinted in 1980 U.S.CODE CONG. & ADMIN.NEWS 4953, 4984, 4984. Especially troubling to Congress was its recognition that “when the cost of contesting a Government [action] exceeds the amount at stake, [many individuals and small businesses have] no realistic choice and no effective remedy. In these cases, it is more practical to endure an injustice than to contest it.” H.R.REP. NO. 1418 at 9, 1980 U.S.CODE CONG. & ADMIN.NEWS at 4988. Accordingly, Congress crafted EAJA to “reduce the detriments and disparity by entitling certain prevailing parties to recover an award of attorney fees, expert witness fees, and other expenses against the United States.” H.R.REP. NO. 1418 at 6, 1980 U.S.CODE CONG. & ADMIN.NEWS at 4984.

The statute does more than merely “permit” or “allow” an award of fees and expenses to a qualified prevailing party2 (verbs suggested by defendant in its Opposition); rather, EAJA requires such an award, unless the government shows that its position was “substantially justified” or that “special circumstances” would make an award unjust. 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A); Gavette v. Office of Personnel Management, 808 F.2d 1456, 1465 (Fed.Cir.1986). Congress felt it “particularly appropriate to place the burden on the government to prove the reasonableness of its actions,” in the belief that so doing would “encourage parties to contest action which they believe to be unreasonable and thereby serve to refine public policy.” H.R.REP. NO. 1418 at 18, 1980 U.S.CODE CONG. & ADMIN.NEWS at 4997.

With the above-described philosophical underpinnings in mind, the first step in addressing any EAJA application is to determine whether the applicant qualifies as a “prevailing party” within the meaning of the act. The Supreme Court has adopted a “generous formulation” for what constitutes a prevailing party. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 1939, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983); Babenco Development Co., Inc. v. United States, 15 Cl.Ct. 637, 639 (1988). Defendant does not dispute that Kunz has crossed this statutory threshold.3

The next task is to determine whether the government has met its burden of' showing that its position both in litigation and at the agency level was “substantially justified.” See 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(D). The Supreme Court recently construed the EAJA’s phrase “substantially justified” to mean

‘justified in substance or in the main,’ that is, justified to a degree that could satisfy a reasonable person [, which] is no different from the ‘reasonable basis both in law and fact’ formulation [heretofore] adopted by [many of the circuits].

Pierce v. Underwood, — U.S. -, 108 S.Ct. 2541, 2550, 101 L.Ed.2d 490 (1988).

In cases like this one where the government’s “position” is composed of several legal arguments of varying merit, a court’s “substantial justification” analysis requires it to make at least one, possibly two addi[435]*435tional decisions. It must first decide whether to separately evaluate the government’s arguments. Should the court find some arguments justifiable but not others, the question arises whether to apportion any fee award accordingly.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
35 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,630, 16 Cl. Ct. 431, 1989 U.S. Claims LEXIS 33, 1989 WL 19422, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kunz-construction-co-v-united-states-cc-1989.