J.P. v. Elmore County Board of Education
Filing
76
ORDER: it is ORDERED that: (1) Dft Elmore County Board of Education's 74 objection to the declarations of attorneys Cassady and Johnson is sustained, except that the court will consider attorney Cassady's declaration to the extent that it is responsive to the court's request for clarification in its prior 66 opinion and order; (2) Dft Elmore County Board of Education's deadline to respond to attorney Cassadys clarification, previously set for 4/23/2021, see 66 Opinio n and Order at 25, is extended to 5:00 pm on 4/26/2021; This response should not address the objected-to declarations of attorneys Cassady and Johnson, except attorney Cassady's to the extent that it is responsive to the court's request for clarification; (3) Plf J.P.'s deadline to reply to dft Elmore County Board of Education's response is extended to 5:00 pm on 4/30/2021. Signed by Honorable Judge Myron H. Thompson on 4/26/2021. (bes, )
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA, NORTHERN DIVISION
J. P., as parent and next
friend of A.W., a minor,
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Plaintiff,
v.
ELMORE COUNTY BOARD OF
EDUCATION,
Defendant.
CIVIL ACTION NO.
2:19cv636-MHT
(WO)
ORDER
In the court’s opinion and order granting in part
plaintiff J.P.’s motion for summary judgment on a claim
for attorneys’ fees, count II of her amended complaint
(Doc.
6),
the
court
instructed
J.P.
to
file
a
“clarification of the total number of hours requested
and total fee sought for the work of attorney Henry L.
Cassady, Jr.,” one of J.P.’s two attorneys, “on each of
the special education cases” underlying her claim for
attorneys’
fees.
J.
P.
v.
Elmore
County
Board
of
Education, 2:19Ccv636-MHT, 2021 WL 1270463, at *6 (M.D.
Ala. Apr. 6, 2021).
In response, in addition to the
clarification
J.P.’s
sought
second
declarations
by
attorney
Cassady,
Jr.
court,
William
requesting
attorneys’ fees claim.
L.
the
fees
both
Cassady
Johnson
for
III
and
filed
litigating
the
See Supplemental Decl. of Henry
(Doc.
73);
Third
Decl.
Board
of
of
William
Tipton Johnson III (Doc. 72).
Defendant
Elmore
County
Education
has
objected to both declarations and the fees requested
therein.
See Objection (Doc. 74).
This objection will
be sustained, and the court will not currently consider
the
requests
of
Cassady
and
Johnson
for
fees
for
litigating count II of J.P.’s amended complaint, that
is, fees for litigating fees.
First, until the court
determines what fees are appropriate under count II for
time
spent
litigating
the
underlying
due-process
proceedings, the court will not be able to assess the
degree
second,
of
counsel’s
Rule
54(d)
success
of
the
on
that
Federal
claim.
Rules
of
And,
Civil
Procedure requires that a “claim for attorney’s fees
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and
related
nontaxable
expenses
must
be
made
by
motion,” which must “be filed no later than 14 days
after
the
entry
of
judgment.”
Fed.
R.
Civ.
P.
54(d)(2)(A), (B)(i).
Therefore, and in the interest of efficiency, the
court
will
not
consider
requests
for
fees
for
litigating either count of J.P.’s complaint until her
complaint is resolved in full.
Once final judgment is
entered in this suit, J.P. may move for fees for the
time spent litigating this case to the extent that she
is the prevailing party in the litigation.
***
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that:
(1) Defendant Elmore County Board of Education’s
objection to the declarations of attorneys Cassady and
Johnson (Doc. 74) is sustained, except that the court
will
consider
attorney
Cassady’s
declaration
to
the
extent that it is responsive to the court’s request for
clarification in its prior opinion and order (Doc. 66).
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(2) Defendant Elmore County Board of Education’s
deadline
to
respond
to
attorney
Cassady’s
clarification, previously set for April 23, 2021, see
Opinion and Order (Doc. 66) at 25, is extended to 5:00
p.m.
on
address
April
the
26,
2021.
objected-to
This
response
declarations
of
should
not
attorneys
Cassady and Johnson, except attorney Cassady’s to the
extent that it is responsive to the court’s request for
clarification.
(3) Plaintiff J.P.’s deadline to reply to defendant
Elmore County Board of Education’s response is extended
to 5:00 p.m. on April 30, 2021.
Counsel for the parties were orally informed of the
extensions on April 23, 2021.
DONE, this the 26th day of April, 2021.
/s/ Myron H. Thompson
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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