Meyer v. Austin

Background

Earl Robert Meyer sought review of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records’ denial of his application for a Purple Heart Medal. Meyer alleged that the denial was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. He requested a declaration, a remand for reconsideration and an award of the medal, and attorney’s fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

Before the court ruled on Meyer’s summary-judgment motion, the parties stipulated to vacate the Board’s denial, remand the matter for reconsideration, and allow Meyer to submit additional evidence. On remand, the Board reversed its prior decision and awarded Meyer the Purple Heart. The parties then stipulated to dismiss the case but disagreed about attorney’s fees and costs.

Court’s Analysis

The Equal Access to Justice Act generally allows a prevailing party in an action against the United States or one of its agencies to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses unless the government’s position was substantially justified or special circumstances would make an award unjust.

The court found that Meyer was a prevailing party. Although the relief resulted from a stipulation, the court adopted the stipulated remand in a judicial order. That order gave Meyer nearly the same relief he requested in his complaint and materially changed the parties’ legal relationship.

The court also found that the defendants’ position was not substantially justified. It concluded that the Board had repeated an error identified in an earlier related proceeding by treating the lack of complete contemporaneous medical records as a reason to deny the Purple Heart application. The court further found that the evidence on remand was not meaningfully different and that the original position had cost Meyer time and money.

Fees and Costs

Meyer’s attorneys requested compensation for 218.4 hours: 136.8 hours by Alan M. Anderson and 81.6 hours by L. Reagan Florence. The court found the hours reasonable. It also found that an inflation-adjusted rate above the statutory $125-per-hour cap was justified.

The court approved a rate of $350 per hour for Anderson, rather than the requested $450 per hour, and an inflation-adjusted rate of $251.72 per hour for Florence. It calculated attorney’s fees of $68,420.35. Because the defendants did not contest the reasonableness of the costs, the court awarded $1,248.93 in costs.

Disposition

Judge John R. Tunheim ordered that Meyer’s motion for attorney’s fees be GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. The court ordered the defendants to pay Meyer $68,420.35 in attorney’s fees and $1,248.93 in costs, and directed that judgment be entered accordingly.