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expert witnesses' fees to be reasonable, and they are awarded to
petitioner.
Petitioner seeks reimbursement for $125 paid to Susan
Anderson (Anderson), a staff nurse who did business with ASAP
from 1993 through 1995. Anderson testified as a witness at
trial; however, her testimony was not relevant because she had no
relationship with ASAP for the year at issue. Thus, we find the
costs claimed for Anderson's services are not reasonable
litigation costs.
D. Legal Research Costs
Petitioner submitted an itemized statement from Stephen
Joseph (Joseph) for legal research he performed on October 19,
1995, and April 8 through April 11, 1996. The invoices indicate
Joseph has a J.D. degree and that he charged petitioner for a
total of 20 hours at an hourly rate of $50 to research the method
of accounting issue. This Court has awarded fees for paralegal
and law clerks and for LEXIS computer research. Powers v.
Commissioner, supra at 493. In Powers v. Commissioner, supra, we
determined an hourly rate of $50 was not unreasonable for a
paralegal. Accordingly, we allow $1,000 for legal research
costs.
E. Interest Award
Petitioner claims interest on the amount of the costs she is
awarded. The Supreme Court has consistently held that "interest
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