Taylor v. District of Columbia

187 F. Supp. 3d 46, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120766, 2016 WL 4691286
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedApril 25, 2016
DocketCivil Action No. 15-685 (RBW/AK)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 187 F. Supp. 3d 46 (Taylor v. District of Columbia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Taylor v. District of Columbia, 187 F. Supp. 3d 46, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120766, 2016 WL 4691286 (D.D.C. 2016).

Opinion

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

ALAN KAY, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

This case was referred to the undersigned, on October 27, 2015, for a Report and Recommendation. (10/27/15 Minute Order.) Pending before the undersigned is Plaintiffs Motion for Attorney’s Fees (“Motion”) [7] and Memorandum in Support thereof (“Memorandum”) [7-1]; Defendant’s Opposition to Motion (“Opposition”) [9]; and Plaintiffs Reply to the Opposition (“Reply”) [10]. Plaintiff Tiffani Taylor (“Plaintiff’) requests from Defendant District of Columbia (“Defendant” or “the District”) a total of $102,536.60 in attorneys’ fees and costs1 incurred in connection with an administrative proceeding brought pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (Memorandum at ll.)2 The underlying administrative cáse involved two separate administrative complaints—Administrative [51]*51Complaints Case #2014-0233 and #2014-0192—which were combined into one administrative hearing, (Hearing Officer Determination, Case #2014-0233 [7-3] (“HOD 1”) and Hearing Officer Determination, Case #2014-0192 [7-4] (“HOD 2”).) Defendant acknowledges that Plaintiff is a fully prevailing party in Case number #2014-0233 because she was awarded the full relief sought.3 (Opposition at 2.) Defendant asserts that Plaintiff is a partially prevailing party with regard to Case #2014-0192 because she only prevailed on half of the issues presented therein. (Opposition at 2, 14-15.) Defendant generally contests the hourly billing rate utilized by the Plaintiff’s counsel (Opposition at' 4-14); counsel’s claimed reimbursement- rate for the performance of “clerical tasks,” (Opposition at 15-16); the award of any fees relating to certain “vague entries,” (Opposition at 16-17); and the rate charged for copies (Opposition at 17). Upon consideration of the Motion, Opposition, and Reply, and for reasons set forth, herein, the undersigned recommends that Plaintiffs Motion [7] be granted in part and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Tiffani Taylor is the mother of D.T. (hereinafter referred to as “D.T.” or “the student”), a minor child who is a student with a disability. (Memorandum at 1.) Defendant District of Columbia is a municipal corporation that operates the District of Columbia Public Schools System (“DCPS”). (Complaint [1] ¶7.)4 The District receives federal funds pursuant to the IDEA and it is obliged to comply with the IDEA, which guarantees all children with disabilities a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”), 20 U.S.C. § 1400(d)(1)(A); 20 U.S.C. § 1411. In general, FAPE “is available to all children with disabilities residing in the State between the ages of 3 and 21[.]” 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(1)(A).

By way of background, at the time of the administrative proceeding, D.T. was a seventeen-year-old child “with a disability pursuant to IDEA, with a disability classification' of multiple disabilities including other health impairment (“OHI”) for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (“ADHD”) and emotional disturbance (“ED”).” (HOD 1 at 2; HOD 2 at 4.) Prior to the administrative hearing, the student was attending School A, “a self-contained full-time special education program housed in a DCPS high school.” (HOD 1 at 4.)

In Administrative Complaint Case #2014-0233, the Hearing Officer considered whether DCPS denied D.T. a FAPE by: 1) failing to conclude at the April 3, 2014 Manifestation Determination Review (“MDR”) that the student’s behavior on March 31, 2014, that led to his forty-five-day suspension, was a manifestation of his disability; and (2) failing to conclude at the May 16, 2014 MDR that the student’s behavior on. May 14, .2014, that led, to his nine-day suspension, was a manifestation of his disability. (HOD 1 at 4.)

The Hearing Officer concluded -that D.T.’s March 31, 2014 behavior of engaging in physical aggression was a manifestation of his ED disability and that he was inappropriately suspended from school. (HOD 1 at 11.) On March 31, 2014, according to D.T., he was in the cafeteria during [52]*52lunchtime when another student spat on him. (HOD 1 at 6.) D.T. left the cafeteria because he was embarrassed, but was directed back to the cafeteria by a school aide. (Id.) When D.T. returned to the cafeteria, he “found the student who had spit on him and put him in a cho[ke]hold while the student was hit by another student.” (Id.) The Hearing Officer found that DCPS failed to “refute the logical conclusion that D.T.’s behavior of engaging in physical aggression was not a behavior that was being targeted by his IEP and BIP.” (HOD 1 at 11.) The Hearing Officer concluded that D.T.’s “behavior of engaging in physical aggression even though it did not directly follow in time [with] him being spit [on], was nonetheless a manifestation of his disability.” (Id.)

The Hearing Officer concluded that D.T.’s May 14, 2014 behavior of engaging in physical aggression was also a manifestation of his ED disability and that D.T. had been inappropriately suspended from school. (HOD 1 at 11.) D.T. indicated that, prior to the incident, he became upset with a female student whéñ she greeted everyone except for him. (HOD 1 at 8.) D.T. calmed down and after some time passed, asked to be allowed to leave to use the restroom. (Id.) A school staff member refused D.T.’s request because he believed that D.T.’s true intention was to go after the female student who had ignored him earlier. (Id.) D.T. pushed past the school staff member after being repeatedly denied access to the restroom. (Id. at 8.) D.T. and Plaintiff provided credible evidence that D.T. was angered by the repeated denial of access to the-restroom by school staff members. (Id.) Again, the Hearing Officer found that DCPS failed to produce evidence that “refute[d] the logical conclusion that [D.T.’s] behavior of engaging in verbal and physical aggression was not a behavior that was being targeted by his IEP and his BIP.” (Id. at 11.)

In Administrative Complaint Case #2014-0233, the Hearing Officer ordered DCPS to provide compensatory education for the time that D.T. was inappropriately suspended and provided with no appropriate placement. (Id at 13.) The compensatory education award consisted of thirty hours of independent tutoring and fifteen hours of independent counseling or mentoring. (HOD 1 at 13.) “Despite Petitioner’s failure to propose appropriate compensatory services[,] [the Hearing Officer] conclude[d] that to award the student no compensation for the missed services would be inequitable and ... the student should be awarded at least nominal services as compensation.” (HOD 1 at 12-13.)

In Administrative Complaint Case #2014-0192, the Hearing Officer considered four issues; namely, whether DCPS denied D.T. a FAPE by failing to provide: (1) timely and accurate evaluations/re-evaluations for D.T.’s areas of suspected disabilities; (2) an appropriate IEP because D.T.’s IEP did not prescribe (a) a full time IEP for ED, other health impaired and learning disability, (b) related services that will provide therapeutic transport, counseling .,.

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187 F. Supp. 3d 46, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120766, 2016 WL 4691286, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/taylor-v-district-of-columbia-dcd-2016.