California OAH special education order · December 1, 2014

Order Requesting Additional Information Regarding Panama-Buena Vista's Request for Sanctions

OAH Case No. 2014100290 · ALJ Adrienne L. Krikorian

OAH deferred ruling on Panama-Buena Vista's sanctions motion against Student's attorney and ordered the District to file an itemized billing statement, because its declaration gave only a total fee amount.

Ruling Sanctions and cost-shifting

This case went to decision

Student v. Panama-Buena Vista Union School District: Panama-Buena Vista Union must fund 35 hours of counseling and tutoring for a seven-week child find failure; other claims denied. (2015)

Summary

Panama-Buena Vista moved for sanctions against Student's attorney, Nicole Hodge Amey. The supporting declaration stated only the total fees charged, with no itemized billing. OAH ordered the District to file an itemized billing statement for October 6 through November 4, 2014, by December 3, 2014. The statement must show dates, a description of the work, hourly rates, and who did the work, along with an authenticating declaration. Ms. Amey may respond by noon on December 5, 2014.

Why it matters

A party seeking fees as a sanction at OAH must back up the amount with itemized, authenticated billing records, not just a total. The attorney facing sanctions gets a chance to challenge those records.

People named in the order

Stacey Inman, Attorney for Panama-Buena Vista Union School District
Nicole Hodge Amey, Attorney for Student

Topics

sanctions attorney fees billing records itemized statement district motion

Full text of the order

Published text of the OAH order. Page headers and numbers from the original PDF have been dropped.

BEFORE THE

OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

In the Matter of:

PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT, OAH CASE NO. 2014100290

v. ORDER REQUESTING ADDITIONAL

INFORMATION REGARDING

PANAMA-BUENA VISTA UNION PANAMA-BUENA VISTA’S REQUEST

SCHOOL DISTRICT. FOR SANCTIONS

On November 4, 2014, attorney Stacey Inman, counsel for Panama-Buena Vista Union School District (Panama-Buena Vista), filed a motion for sanctions against Student’s attorney, Nicole Hodge Amey. Ms. Inman included a declaration under penalty of perjury that specified only the total amount of fees charged but did not include an itemized billing statement justifying the amount of sanctions requested.

Therefore, Panama-Buena Vista is ordered to file and serve an itemized billing statement for the time period of October 6, 2014 through November 4, 2014, including dates, description of work, hourly rate, and who performed the work, with a declaration authenticating the billing statement with appropriate facts. Panama-Buena Vista may redact any attorney- client privileged information from the billing statement. Panama-Buena Vista shall file and serve the itemized statement and supporting declaration no later than 3:00 p.m.

on December 3, 2014. Ms. Amey may file and serve a response to the itemized statement no later than noon on Friday, December 5, 2014.