- 11 -
On the basis of the parties' submissions and the record as a
whole, we conclude that petitioners did not unreasonably protract
the proceedings.8
III. Reasonable Litigation Costs
Petitioners submitted a statement from their attorney, V.
Jean Owens, which itemized 56.5 hours he worked on the case, 32
hours of paralegal time, and $1,227.22 in fees and costs incurred
from November 8, 1995, through June 9, 1997 (the itemized
statement). Mr. Owens billed his time at a rate of $175 per
hour, and the paralegal billed at a rate of $65 per hour.
Petitioners' motion, however, requests the award of 71 attorney
hours at the rate of $110 per hour, 37 paralegal hours at the
rate of $65 per hour, and $1,247.22 in costs.
Section 7430(c)(1) defines reasonable litigation costs, in
part, as reasonable fees paid or incurred for the services of
attorneys in connection with the court proceeding. Section
7430(c)(1)(B)(iii) limits the hourly rate for attorney's fees to
$75, with allowances for a higher rate for increases in the cost
of living and other special factors (such as the limited
availability of qualified attorneys).
8 In any event, even assuming petitioners protracted the
proceeding in regard to this issue, sec. 7430(b)(4), because it
speaks in terms of a "portion" of a proceeding, would not bar
recovery for costs attributable to litigating the classification
issue.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011