S. v. New York City Department of Education

Background

Y.S., individually and on behalf of her son D.F., a child with a disability, sued the New York City Department of Education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Cuddy Law Firm moved for attorneys’ fees and costs and requested $38,404.50. The Department of Education argued that any award should be no more than $8,582.63. The court awarded $21,028.80.

Hourly Rates

The court found that the firm’s requested rates were unreasonable: $550 per hour for Andrew Cuddy, $450 for Kevin Mendillo, $425 for Benjamin Kopp, and $225 for paralegal work. It awarded $400 per hour for Cuddy, $300 for Mendillo and Kopp, and $100 for paralegals. Because those rates were close to the rates proposed by the Department of Education, the court did not address the Department’s alternative argument that rates from the Northern District of New York should apply.

Administrative Proceedings

The firm billed 53.6 attorney hours and 9.3 paralegal hours for the administrative proceedings. The court found excessive the more than 15 attorney hours spent drafting, editing, discussing, and collecting information for the due process complaint. It also found excessive the 1.5 attorney hours and 1.1 paralegal hours spent reviewing bills.

The court rejected the Department’s argument that the firm’s numerous six-minute billing entries were excessive merely because they were recorded in six-minute increments. After reviewing the task descriptions, the court concluded that the entries primarily concerned client or school emails and did not appear to involve tasks taking less than six minutes. The court applied a 10% reduction to the administrative-proceeding billing.

Federal Proceedings

The firm billed 22.53 attorney hours and 2 paralegal hours for the federal case. The court found excessive the 15.2 attorney hours spent preparing the fee motion because the firm’s briefs and declarations were nearly identical to submissions in other fee cases. The court also found excessive certain .1- and .2-hour entries for reviewing electronic court notifications, docket entries, extension-related emails, and deadlines.

The court further determined that attorneys performed tasks that should have been assigned to paralegals, including preparing the civil cover sheet and summons and serving those documents. It also found excessive the additional 1 attorney hour and 1.8 paralegal hours spent preparing and reviewing billing statements. The court applied a 30% reduction to the federal-case billing.

Settlement-Offer Fee Cap

The court considered the statutory limit on IDEA fees incurred after a written settlement offer when the final relief is not more favorable to the parent than the offer. After the rate adjustments and billing reductions, the court found that the firm had properly billed approximately $16,800 by March 9, 2022, when the Department of Education made a $16,000 settlement offer. The court therefore concluded that the firm was entitled to fees for work performed after that date. It nevertheless encouraged the firm to consider whether two additional years of litigation were worthwhile to obtain the relatively small increase in the award.

Disposition

Judge Arun Subramanian awarded $21,028.80 in fees and costs, plus post-judgment interest at the applicable statutory rate. The Clerk of Court was directed to enter judgment, terminate Docket 25, and close the case.