Wilson v. Government of District of Columbia

269 F.R.D. 8, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77202, 2010 WL 3001716
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedJuly 30, 2010
DocketCivil Action No. 09-2258 (RBW)
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 269 F.R.D. 8 (Wilson v. Government of District of Columbia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilson v. Government of District of Columbia, 269 F.R.D. 8, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77202, 2010 WL 3001716 (D.C. Cir. 2010).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

REGGIE B. WALTON, District Judge.

The plaintiff, Salome Wilson, filed this lawsuit on behalf of her now seventeen year-old son, Y.W., a minor child who requires special education services. This action is one to recover attorneys’ fees for legal services provided by the plaintiffs lawyer during administrative proceedings initiated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1491 (2006). See Complaint (“Compl.”) ¶¶ 7; 18A-C. Currently before the Court is Defendant District of Columbia’s motion to dismiss the plaintiffs claim. This motion is based on two theories: (1) the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), see Defendant’s Memorandum of Points and Authority in Support of Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (“Def.’s Mem.”) at 4-5; and (2) the defendant alleges that the plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), because the plaintiff was not a prevailing party in the underlying administrative proceeding, a requirement for recovery of attorneys’ fees, id. at 7-8, and the claim was filed untimely under the applicable statute of limitations, id. at 10-14. In the alternative, the defendant moves for a more definite statement pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(e). Id. at 9-10.1 For the reasons that follow, this Court finds that: (1) it has subject matter jurisdiction to hear the plaintiffs claim; (2) the plaintiffs complaint is sufficient and does not need amending to provide the defendant with a more definite statement; (3) the plaintiff was a prevailing party in the underlying administrative hearings; and (4) that the plaintiffs complaint was filed in a timely manner because the statute of limitations period for this action is three years in length.

I. BACKGROUND

The purpose of the IDEA is to “ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet them unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.” 20 U.S.C. § 1400(d)(1)(A). In an effort to “ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and parents of such children are protected,” id. at (d)(1)(B), the IDEA sets forth a number of procedural safeguards in Section 1415 of Title 20 of the United States Code. If a parent disagrees with a school’s determination of what constitutes appropriate educational placement of a disabled child, he or she has the right to an “impartial due process hearing.” 20 U.S.C. § 1415(f). At the hearing, parents have “the right to be accompanied and advised by counsel and by individuals with special knowledge or training with respect to the problems of children with disabilities.” Id. at (h)(1). If disabled [11]*11children and their parents are “aggrieved by” a hearing officer’s findings or decision, they have the “right to bring a civil action” in federal or state court. Id. at (i)(2)(A). The IDEA also grants the district court the ability to “in its discretion, ... award reasonable attorneys’ fees as part of the costs-(I) to a prevailing party who is the parent of a child with a disability.” Id. at (i)(3)(B)(i). A prevailing party may recover attorneys’ fees incurred during administrative proceedings. See Moore v. District of Columbia, 907 F.2d 165,167 (D.C.Cir.1990).

On August 28, 2006, the plaintiff filed an administrative complaint on behalf of her child, Y.W., with the District of Columbia Public School System (the “School System”) alleging that the School System was denying Y.W. a free appropriate public education by keeping him at the school he was then attending. See Compl. ¶¶ 8-11. The plaintiff additionally requested that Y.W. be transferred to a school that “could provide educational benefit to Y.W.” Id. ¶ 10. At the hearing, which was held on November 28, 2006, the Hearing Officer made two findings: (1) that Y.W. was being denied a free appropriate public education at the school he was then attending; and (2) that Y.W. would receive better educational benefit by transferring to the school requested by the plaintiff. See id. The Hearing Officer then ordered Y.W.’s transfer to the plaintiffs requested school. Id. ¶ 11. Following this administrative proceeding, the plaintiff alleges that her lawyer properly submitted an invoice to the School System on or about December 6, 2006, for reimbursement of her attorneys’ fees. Compare Pi’s Opp’n. at 2 (noting the date of the invoice’s submission), with Def.’s Mem. at 13 (stating that the School System’s “Fee Guidelines” dictate that attorneys’ fees invoices should be submitted to the School System within 45 days of the Hearing Officer’s decision and that “while [the School System] will endeavor to act on invoices submitted within 60 days, fee requests may be deemed denied if [the School System] takes no action within 90 days of invoice submissions”). The plaintiff also alleges that although she prevailed at the administrative proceeding and is therefore entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees, to date the School System has not responded to the request for payment of those fees. Pl.’s Opp’n. at 2.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A. Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction.

“On a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss, the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the court has jurisdiction to entertain his [or her] claims.” Green v. Stuyvesant, 505 F.Supp.2d 176, 177 (D.D.C.2007) (citations omitted). Because a motion for dismissal under “Rule 12(b)(1) presents a threshold challenge to the court’s jurisdiction,” Haase v. Sessions, 835 F.2d 902, 906 (D.C.Cir.1987) (citations omitted), Rule 12(b)(1) requires dismissal of a complaint if the Court lacks subject matter over the dispute. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). The Court must accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint when reviewing a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1). Leatherman v. Tarrant Cnty. Narcotics Intelligence & Coordination Unit, 507 U.S. 163, 164, 113 S.Ct. 1160, 122 L.Ed.2d 517 (1993). However, since the plaintiff has the burden of establishing the Court’s jurisdiction, the “plaintiffs factual allegations in the complaint ...

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
269 F.R.D. 8, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77202, 2010 WL 3001716, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilson-v-government-of-district-of-columbia-cadc-2010.