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knew of the summons until January 2006. We find that petitioner
has not unreasonably protracted the proceedings.
E. Reasonable Litigation Costs
Finally, respondent argues that the fees claimed by Ms.
Hawkins are unreasonable. We agree with respondent that no
departure from the statutory rates is called for in this case.
The award of attorney’s fees under section 7430 is generally
limited to the statutory rate11 “unless the court determines that
* * * a special factor, such as the limited availability of
qualified attorneys for such proceeding, the difficulty of the
issues presented in the case, or the local availability of tax
expertise, justifies a higher rate.” Sec. 7430(c)(1)(B)(iii).
Ms. Hawkins claims that an upward departure to her billing
rate of $350 an hour is warranted because of her extensive
experience dealing with innocent spouse relief and because the 10
lawyers who had previously represented petitioner were unable to
obtain such relief. While we do not question that Ms. Hawkins
has a wealth of experience that in some case might justify an
upward departure from the statutory rate, this is not such a
case.
We find nothing particularly complex about the law or the
11An award for fees incurred in 2004 and 2005 is limited to
$150 per hour. Rev. Proc. 2003-85, sec. 3.33, 2003-2 C.B. 1184,
1190; Rev. Proc. 2004-71, sec. 3.35, 2004-2 C.B. 970, 976. An
award of fees incurred in 2006 is limited to $160 an hour. Rev.
Proc. 2005-70, sec. 3.36, 2005-2 C.B. 979, 985.
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