Youngdale & Sons Construction Co. v. United States

39 Cont. Cas. Fed. 76,667, 31 Fed. Cl. 167, 1994 U.S. Claims LEXIS 91, 1994 WL 174221
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedMay 5, 1994
DocketNo. 553-88C
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 39 Cont. Cas. Fed. 76,667 (Youngdale & Sons Construction Co. 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
Youngdale & Sons Construction Co. v. United States, 39 Cont. Cas. Fed. 76,667, 31 Fed. Cl. 167, 1994 U.S. Claims LEXIS 91, 1994 WL 174221 (uscfc 1994).

Opinion

ORDER

REGINALD W. GIBSON, Judge.

This matter comes before the United States Court of Federal Claims (COFC)1 in connection with two show cause orders issued by this court on December 7, 1993, and February 17,1994, regarding plaintiffs application for attorneys’ fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA).2 The timing of plaintiffs initial filing in relation to the final judgment in the action, and its subsequent December 6, 1993, motion for enlargement of time to supplement its application, gave the court reason to question whether it has proper subject matter jurisdiction to consider plaintiffs claim in view of the 30-day rule. The parties, therefore, were ordered on two occasions to brief the issue as to whether plaintiffs application for attorneys’ fees and expenses was timely filed and is properly before us.

Because the court must address jurisdictional issues, sua sponte, when there is a question, it is our obligation here, given the circumstances surrounding the initial filing, to ascertain whether plaintiff has satisfied the jurisdictional prerequisites imposed by the EAJA. The specific question the court must consider, therefore, is — whether plaintiff filed its EAJA application in a timely manner, pursuant to the filing provision, § 2412(d)(1)(B). That subsection provides as follows:

A party seeking an award of fees and other expenses shall, within thirty days of final judgment in the action, submit to the court an application____

If the court finds that plaintiff failed to file its application within the statutorily-allotted, time, then plaintiffs EAJA claim must be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. On the other hand, if plaintiff filed a complete application within thirty (30) days of “final judgment,” as contemplated by the statute, the requisite indicia of jurisdiction will be evident, and the court will consider the claim on its merits. After reviewing the pertinent facts, the parties’ briefs, and the applicable law, the court finds that plaintiff did in fact file a timely and complete application uñthin thirty (SO) days after final judgment. We, therefore, have jurisdiction to proceed on the merits of plaintiffs claim.

1. Background Facts

Plaintiff was awarded $343,774.00 and related interest on January 15, 1993, by this court’s opinion, following a trial on the mer[169]*169its. See Youngdale & Sons Construction Co. v. United States, 27 Fed.Cl. 516 (1993). Pursuant to said opinion, judgment was entered in this court on January 26, 1993. Thereafter, plaintiff filed a timely notice of appeal in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on March 23, 1993, but was thereafter dismissed on September 24, 1993, for failure to prosecute (i.e., for failure to file its brief as required). On October 20,1993, and within 30 days of the CAFC dismissal, the Clerk of the CAFC received from plaintiff a document entitled “Application For Attorneys’ Fees And Expenses.” The CAFC Clerk’s office, on its own initiative, telephoned plaintiffs attorney to explain that the application had been misaddressed3 (Affidavit of Alice Aubel, Pltfs Response to Show Cause Order). At the request of plaintiffs attorney’s secretary, Ms. Aubel, the CAFC Clerk’s office agreed to forward plaintiffs application to the Clerk of the Court of Federal Claims, where it originally should have been sent. See letter dated November 19, 1993, by which the Application For Attorneys’ Fees was forwarded to the Court of Federal Claims.4 We observe a discrepancy in the facts in that Ms. Aubel in her February 25, 1994, declaration noted that she asked the clerk at the CAFC “what to do and she said that she could reroute it to the Court of Federal Claims.” .

An examination of the contents of plaintiffs initial filing on October 20,1993, reveals the following:

(a) With respect to the transmittal letter—
(i) it was addressed to the “Clerk of the Court, U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit”;
(ii) Room 401;
(in) 717 Madison Place, N.W.; and
(iv) Case No. 553-88C (ie. a COFC docket number);
(b) With respect to the Application for Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses—
(i) the captioned court was correctly noted — “In The United States Court of Federal Claims”; and;
(ii) the case docket number was 553-88C, the correct COFC docket number; and
(c) The plaintiff neglected to include in said application—
(i) a definitive statement of the amount claimed;
(ii) • an itemized statement from an attorney or expert witness averring the actual time expended and the rate at which fees are to be computed;
(in) the Appendix E form — Rule 81(e); and
(iv) the required oath — Rule 81(e).

Plaintiff admits the deficiencies in its “preliminary statement” in its October 20, 1993 Application for Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses, which reads, in pertinent part, as follows:

This application is being filed in order to preserve Youngdale’s rights under the Equal Access to Justice Act in the event the settlement is not finalized. For this reason Youngdale does not attach the backup information in support of this application as set forth in the application but will provide such information expeditiously in the event settlement is not approved.

On December 6, 1993, more than 70 days after the September 24,1993, dismissal of its appeal by the CAFC, plaintiff filed a Motion For Enlargement of Time that, if granted, would allegedly allow it to file the additional “backup information.” In response to plaintiff’s motion, this court, on December 7,1993, ordered the parties to show cause how and to [170]*170what extent 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B) and Rule 81(e) had been complied with. On January 3, 1994, this court received plaintiffs completed EAJA application.5 That submission included, as required and which were omitted in the original filing, a statement of the amount claimed, an Appendix E form, an itemization of fees and expenses, and the required declaration under oath. On February 17, 1994, this court issued a second show cause order, again directing the parties to specifically address the issue — whether the EAJA application was filed in a timely manner, as well as whether the jurisdictional requisites were duly met. Having, sua sponte, generated the present procedural posture of the case, we now turn to the issue — whether this court has jurisdiction to entertain plaintiffs EAJA application.

II. Analysis

Before this court can decide whether plaintiffs December 6, 1993, Motion For Enlargement Of Time is appropriate, we must, of course, be certain that all jurisdictional prerequisites contained in the controlling statute have been met, and that the matter is properly before us.

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Bluebook (online)
39 Cont. Cas. Fed. 76,667, 31 Fed. Cl. 167, 1994 U.S. Claims LEXIS 91, 1994 WL 174221, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/youngdale-sons-construction-co-v-united-states-uscfc-1994.