Shaw v. Gober

10 Vet. App. 498, 1997 U.S. Vet. App. LEXIS 1010, 1997 WL 688795
CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
DecidedNovember 6, 1997
DocketNo. 96-496
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 10 Vet. App. 498 (Shaw v. Gober) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shaw v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 498, 1997 U.S. Vet. App. LEXIS 1010, 1997 WL 688795 (Cal. 1997).

Opinion

STEINBERG, Judge.

The appellant filed a Notice of Appeal (NOA) from a May 7, 1996, decision of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board or BVA) denying an increased rating for post-traumatic chronic brain syndrome, with associated neurotic reaction and vertigo, currently rated 50% disabling. On May 16, 1996, the appellant’s counsel filed a fee agreement. Subsequently, the parties filed a joint motion for remand. On May 21, 1997, the Court granted the joint motion, vacated the May 7, 1996, Board decision, and remanded the matter.

On June 2, 1997, the appellant filed an application for attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d); the application was thereafter revised by a July 3, 1997, amended application that totally superseded the June 2 application; the amended application reduced the amount of fees sought, and the Secretary filed a response. The appellant has not filed a reply. Issues with respect to the EAJA application and the fee agreement are the subject of this opinion. For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants the EAJA application in part and denies it in part and orders a conference with the Court’s Central Legal Staff, and reviews the fee agreement and finds certain provisions in it facially unreasonable.

I. EAJA Application

A. Jurisdiction

The Court has jurisdiction to award attorney fees pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(F) as amended by section 506 of the Federal Courts Administration Act of 1992 (FCAA), Pub.L. No. 102-572, § 506,106 Stat. 4506, 4513 (1992). The appellant’s application has satisfied the jurisdictional content requirements under 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B) within the applicable 30-day application period because it contained the following: (1) A showing that he was a “prevailing party” by asserting such status and by demonstrating how he had attained it— that is, that he had achieved “some of the benefit sought in bringing suit” by virtue of the Court’s having granted the joint motion to remand (Stillwell v. Brown, 6 Vet.App. 291, 300 (1994)); (2) a showing that he is a party eligible for an award under the EAJA by attaching a declaration stating that his net worth was less than $2,000,000 “at the time [ ] my appeal to [this Court] was filed”; (3) an assertion that the position of the Secretary was not substantially justified; and (4) an itemized statement of the fees sought (in the amended amount of $38,470.00), supported by an affidavit from the appellant’s counsel. See Bazalo v. Brown, 9 Vet.App. 304, 310 (1996) (en banc). Accordingly, the Court finds that the EAJA application was timely filed. Ibid.

B. Merits of EAJA Application

The amended EAJA application seeks attorney fees in the amount of $38,470.00 based on an expenditure of 331.3 hours of time billed at the rate of $125.00 per hour for attorney time and $100.00 per hour for non-attorney representative time. Amended Application at 2. In response to the EAJA application, the Secretary states that he does not contest the following: (1) That the appellant has obtained a “final judgment” within the meaning of the EAJA (28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(G)); (2) that the appellant is a “prevailing party” within the meaning of the EAJA (28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(B)); (3) that the appellant’s net worth does not exceed $2,000,000 (28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(B)); and (4) that the Secretary was not substantially justified in the underlying merits administrative decisionmaking and litigation in this Court (28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A)). Response (Resp.) at 4.

The Secretary states that the “amount of fees are generally not contested with 2 exceptions” and that these two items should be reduced by a total amount of 9.5 hours. Ibid. He further states that the appellant’s counsel is requesting approximately $19,000 for work performed to demonstrate the reasonableness of his fee agreement with the veteran and that any discussion of EAJA fees for this work is premature because the issue regarding the reasonableness of the fee [501]*501agreement is pending before the Court and the appellant is not a “prevailing party” with respect to that issue. The Secretary states that his response to the EAJA application is thus limited to the services provided solely in connection with the Court’s action pursuant to the NOA filed from the May 7,1996, BVA decision. Resp. at 3.

1. Uncontested matter. Because the Secretary has stated expressly that he does not contest the appellant’s assertion that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was not substantially justified in the underlying merits administrative decisionmaking and litigation in this Court, a matter as to which the Secretary bears the burden of proof as an affirmative defense, see March v. Brown, 7 Vet.App. 163, 169 (1994); Stillwell, 6 Vet.App. at 301; Cook v. Brown, 6 Vet.App. 226, 237 (1994), aff'd, 68 F.3d 447 (Fed.Cir.1995); see also Doria v. Brown, 8 Vet.App. 157, 162-63 (1995), the Court will not address the issue. See Cook, 6 Vet.App. at 237 (holding that where Secretary had conceded issue of substantial justification, the Court “thus need not decide it”); see also March, supra (applying above holding from Cook, supra); Elcyzyn v. Brown, 7 Vet.App. 170, 174-75 (1994) (stating that because Secretary does not assert “special circumstances” under 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A), only issue in dispute is whether Secretary’s position was substantially justified, a matter contested by Secretary).

2. Contested matters. The Secretary contests three aspects of the application: The first two relate to the representation in connection with the underlying BVA decision, and the third relates to representation regarding the reasonableness of the fee agreement.

a. Representation as to underlying EVA decision: The two items that the Secretary contests as to the fees sought in connection with the appeal of the BVA decision relate to two fee-amount items: (1) The 3.6 hours charged on January 3, 1997, for the non-attorney representative to prepare a motion for extension of time to file the appellant’s brief; and (2) the 6.5 hours charged on May 28,1997, for attorney work in preparing the “EAJA brief’. Resp. at 4-5. The Secretary states that item 1 should be reduced by 3 hours. He states that item 2 should be eliminated because 7.2 attorney hours were charged on May 27 to prepare the EAJA application and 3.6 hours of review time (2.4 attorney hours plus 1.2 non-attorney hours) were charged on May 30 and that that amount of time should be adequate for this work. Moreover, as to item 2, he states that no “EAJA brief’ was filed with the application. Resp. at 4-5.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Joseph J. Froio v. Robert A. McDonald
27 Vet. App. 352 (Veterans Claims, 2015)
Jackson v. Shinseki
23 Vet. App. 27 (Veterans Claims, 2009)
Karen Gordon v. James B. Peake
22 Vet. App. 265 (Veterans Claims, 2008)
Kenneth B. Mason v. R. James Nicholson
20 Vet. App. 279 (Veterans Claims, 2006)
Charles F. Evington v. Anthony J. Principi
18 Vet. App. 331 (Veterans Claims, 2004)
Kopulos v. Barnhart
318 F. Supp. 2d 657 (N.D. Illinois, 2004)
Fritz v. Principi
16 Vet. App. 179 (Veterans Claims, 2002)
Carpenter v. Principi
15 Vet. App. 64 (Veterans Claims, 2001)
Snyder v. Gober
14 Vet. App. 154 (Veterans Claims, 2000)
Teten v. West
13 Vet. App. 560 (Veterans Claims, 2000)
Jones v. West
13 Vet. App. 543 (Veterans Claims, 2000)
Fritz v. West
13 Vet. App. 439 (Veterans Claims, 2000)
In re Fee Agreement of Mason
13 Vet. App. 79 (Veterans Claims, 1999)
Jackson v. West
12 Vet. App. 422 (Veterans Claims, 1999)
Manning v. West
12 Vet. App. 242 (Veterans Claims, 1999)
Gaines v. West
12 Vet. App. 169 (Veterans Claims, 1999)
Calma v. West
12 Vet. App. 66 (Veterans Claims, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
10 Vet. App. 498, 1997 U.S. Vet. App. LEXIS 1010, 1997 WL 688795, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shaw-v-gober-cavc-1997.