G.T. v. New York City Department of Education

Background

G.T., individually and on behalf of his minor child C.T., brought an administrative proceeding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act seeking reimbursement for C.T.’s tuition for the 2014–15 school year and for a privately obtained neuropsychological evaluation. After a one-day trial, Impartial Hearing Officer Lana S. Flame ruled that C.T.’s parents were entitled to that reimbursement.

G.T. later filed this federal action seeking attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in the administrative proceeding and in the federal action under the Act’s fee-shifting provision, 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3). Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses issued a report recommending that the motion for fees and costs be granted in part.

Objections and review

The Department of Education objected principally to the recommended hourly rates for G.T.’s attorney, Irina Roller, and her paralegal, Maria Mandilas. The Department also argued that G.T. should not receive an award because of an unreasonable delay in pursuing fees.

Judge Daniels concluded that the objections largely repeated arguments made before Magistrate Judge Moses. He therefore reviewed the disputed recommendations for clear error and found no error, clear or otherwise. The court adopted Magistrate Judge Moses’s report in full and overruled the Department’s objections.

Disposition

The court granted G.T.’s motion for attorneys’ fees and costs in the recommended amounts. It ordered the Department of Education to pay a total of $18,731.70, consisting of $12,612.50 for fees from the administrative proceeding, $5,860 for fees incurred in the federal action, and $259.20 in costs.

This was a fee award concerning an earlier administrative proceeding and the federal fee action; the opinion did not reconsider the administrative ruling awarding reimbursement.