T.B. et al v. San Diego Unified School District
Filing
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ORDER Denying #241 Motion for Reconsideration on Amount of Attorney's Fees. Signed by Judge Michael M. Anello on 7/13/2012. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(leh)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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T.B., a minor, by and through his
Guardian ad Litem, ALLISON
BRENNEISE, and ROBERT
BRENNEISE,
CASE NO. 08-CV-28-MMA (WMc)
[Consolidated Action]
Plaintiffs,
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vs.
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
RECONSIDERATION ON AMOUNT
OF ATTORNEY’S FEES
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SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT,
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[Doc. No. 241]
Defendant.
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SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT,
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Plaintiff,
vs.
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BRENNEISE, et al,
Defendants.
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T.B., a minor, and his parents Allison and Robert Brenneise, move for reconsideration
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of the Court’s order granting them over $50,000 for attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to the
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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3). Having
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considered the arguments and record, the Court DENIES the motion for reconsideration.
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08cv28
DISCUSSION
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The Brenneises first argue the Court committed a clear error of law by reaching a
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decision that was fundamentally inconsistent with the principles underlying the IDEA.
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School Dist. No. 1J, Multnomah Cnty., Or. v. ACandS, Inc., 5 F.3d 1255, 1263 (9th Cir.
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1993). They portray the decision as authorizing a school district to banish a disabled child
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from public school by forcing the parents to accept money and educate him on their own.
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Here, the Court applied the provision of the IDEA that prohibits parents who
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prevailed on the merits from recovering fees and costs from the school district for services
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rendered “subsequent to the time of a written offer of settlement” if “the relief finally
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obtained by the parents is not more favorable to the parents than the offer of settlement”
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unless the parents were “substantially justified in rejecting the settlement offer.” 20 U.S.C.
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§ 1415(i)(3)(D)(i), (E). As the Court explained, the Brenneises clearly had the right to
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pursue vigorously and exhaustively their numerous IDEA claims in the administrative and
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judicial arenas after a reasonable person would have accepted a favorable settlement offer,
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“‘but the right to have their attorneys fees picked up by the taxpayers is more circumspect.’”
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T.D. v. LaGrange School Dist. No. 102, 349 F.3d 469, 477 (7th Cir. 2003) (quoting Edie F. v.
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River Falls Sch. Dist., 243 F.3d 329, 336 (7th Cir. 2001)). The Court decided the motion for
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attorney’s fees based upon the specific and unique facts of the case.1 The decision was
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consistent with the IDEA by encouraging parties to settle their disputes so that the child can
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obtain an immediate educational benefit without generating excessive legal fees.
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As a separate reason, the Court exercised its discretion to award only those fees and
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costs incurred before the Brenneises’ unreasonably rejected a generous settlement.2 This
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decision was not based on the statutory bar of § 1415(i)(3)(D)(i), but was nonetheless
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Woods v. Northport Public Sch., 2011 WL 1230813, at *26 & n.4 (W.D. Mich. Mar. 31,
2011) (noting acrimony that generated fees exceeding $400,000), aff’d in part and rev’d in part
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Woods, 2011 WL 1230813, aff’d in part and rev’d in part 2012 WL 2612776, at *13
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§ 1414(i)(3)(D), does not mean that the district court could not consider the relief ultimately
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attorneys’ fee award”).
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informed by the policies of the IDEA. Congress drafted the IDEA to minimize the expense
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of administrative hearings and litigation by encouraging parents and schools to resolve their
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disagreements in constructive ways to improve the child’s education. Schaffer v. Weast, 546
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U.S. 49, 58-59 (2005); e.g., El Paso Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Richard R., 591 F.3d 417, 425-26
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(5th Cir. 2009).
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“A finding that a party is a prevailing party only makes him eligible to receive
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attorneys’ fees under the IDEA; it does not automatically entitle him to recover the full
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amount that he spent on legal representation.” Jason D.W. v. Houston Indep. Sch. Dist., 158
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F.3d 205, 209 (5th Cir. 1998) (emphasis added); Gates v. Deukmejian, 987 F.2d 1392, 1403
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(9th Cir. 1992). The Court found they were the prevailing parties and then awarded a
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suitable amount. See Opp. Br. at 19-20. As to the amount of fees, the Court considered,
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among other factors, the minimal degree of success the Brenneises obtained. One way to
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measure success is to examine whether the child obtained an educational benefit. The Court
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analogized to the Farrar v. Hobby, 506 U.S. 103 (1992) decision and found that T.B. did not
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directly benefit from the order affirming the administrative law judge’s finding that he had
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been denied a free and appropriate education in the 2006-2007 school year. See Jodlowski v.
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Valley View Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist. No. 365-U, 109 F.3d 1250, 1255 (7th Cir. 1997) (denying
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fee award for a tactical, illusory, and insignificant victory).
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The bulk of the instant motion contains arguments the Brenneises could have made in
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their original motion, and thus do not warrant granting a motion for reconsideration. Carroll
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v. Nakatani, 342 F.3d 934, 945 (9th Cir. 2003). As to Mrs. Brenneise’s private thoughts and
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wishes, the School District correctly notes that its settlement offer was shaped by her express
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demands (often through counsel) at the time. “Here, the parent asked for money to continue
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to privately place T.B. for the next five years. The District should not be forced to bear the
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cost of the parents’ failure to accept an offer giving them exactly what they asked for.” Opp.
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Br. at 11, 13-14, 17-18.
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In addition, the Brenneises argue that the Court improperly made factual findings
about Mrs. Brenneise’s subjective reasons for rejecting the settlement offer. They assert that
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no amount of money can ever be considered more favorable than “disenrolling” a disabled
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child from public school. They now request an evidentiary hearing.
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The Court rejects this argument. As discussed in the prior Order, the comparison
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between the settlement offer ($150,000 a year) and the value of the relief obtained (a
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modification of the Individualized Education Plan that T.B. never used) was a difficult and
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close question. The Court applied the IDEA attorneys’ fees provision based on an
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assessment of the facts in the case at hand. The Brenneises had a fair opportunity to argue
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their position in their opening and reply briefs, but ultimately the Court rejected their
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explanation, in part, because it was a post-hoc creation that was not grounded in the record at
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the time the parties discussed settling their IDEA disputes. See J.P. v. Cnty. Sch. Bd. of
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Hanover Cnty., VA, 641 F. Supp. 2d 499, 508 (E.D. Va. 2009) (requiring a “good faith,
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reasonable belief” to reject settlement offer). Nothing in the Court’s decision establishes a
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per se rule.
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The Brenneises also ask the Court to consider facts developed after they moved to
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Minnesota in 2008. See Brenneise Decl. However, this is not “new” evidence that would
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justify reconsideration of the Court’s prior ruling. School Dist. No. 1J, Multnomah Cnty., 5
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F.3d at 1263. Moreover, the evidence is for the most part irrelevant because the Court
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examined the reasonableness of the decision from the parents’ perspective at the time they
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rejected the offer in May 2007, as it was bound to do. See J.P., 641 F. Supp. 2d at 508; L. V.
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Woonsocket Educ. Dep’t, 793 F. Supp. 41, 45 (D. R.I. 1992) (judging reasonableness of
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decision not to settle based on evidence available to parents at time of offer).
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The Brenneises also argue that they are entitled to recover the attorneys’ fees they
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incurred in this federal action to secure the offer of judgment on the California Compliance
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Complaint, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 68, but fail to cite any authority that those fees are exempt
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from Section 1415(i)(3)(D)(i) or the Court’s discretion.
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The Brenneises further request “a clear statement of the base[] hours [the Court]
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started with for each professional or the total number of hours it reduced for each category of
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objections that it sustained.” The Court went through every page of the billing statements
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and added up the hours that were reasonable and compensable for each professional. “Courts
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need not attempt to portray the discretionary analyses that lead to their numerical conclusions
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as elaborate mathematical equations, but they must provide sufficient insight into their
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exercises of discretion to enable [the appellate court] to discharge [its] reviewing function.”
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Cunningham v. Cnty. of L.A., 879 F.2d 481, 485 (9th Cir. 1988). The Court clearly and
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concisely explained the reasons for various deductions (such as the bar on time associated
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with IEP Team Meetings, the minimal degree of success, and clerical activities) and its
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calculations can be determined from the descriptions in the billing entries. Id. at 484 (“we do
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not require an elaborately reasoned, calculated, or worded order; a brief explanation of how
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the court arrived at its figures will do”); Gates, 987 F.2d at 1399 (“Despite the ‘concise but
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clear’ requirement, in cases where a voluminous fee application is filed in exercising its
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billing judgment the district court is not required to set forth an hour-by-hour analysis of the
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fee request.”) (citations omitted and quoting Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 437
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(1983)).
CONCLUSION
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For the reasons stated above, the Court DENIES the Brenneises’ motion for
reconsideration. [Doc. No. 241]
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: July 13, 2012
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Hon. Michael M. Anello
United States District Judge
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