California OAH special education order · April 17, 2023
Order Specifying Costs Shifted
OAH Case No. 2023020646 · ALJ Charles Marson
OAH ordered Student's attorney Sheila Bayne to personally pay Yuba City $968 in costs caused by her misconduct, finding the district's documented attorney time reasonable.
Summary
OAH had earlier issued an Order Shifting Costs for Attorney Misconduct, which shifted Yuba City's costs to Student's attorney, Sheila Bayne. Yuba City then filed a cost statement with declarations from its two attorneys showing each attorney's hourly rate and time spent on the required pleadings and the March 27, 2023 prehearing conference. No response was received from Student's side. OAH found the $968 reasonable and ordered Bayne to pay it personally within 30 days, without passing the cost to her client.
Why it matters
OAH can make an attorney personally pay the other side's litigation costs for misconduct, and the attorney may not pass that cost on to the family. Districts should back cost requests with itemized declarations, and attorneys who ignore a cost statement give up the chance to contest the amount.
People named in the order
- Sheila C. Bayne, Student's attorney
- Dee Anna Hassanpour, District's attorney
- Anisha Asher, District's attorney
- Charles Marson, Administrative Law Judge
Topics
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:
PARENTS ON BEHALF OF STUDENT,
v.
YUBA CITY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2023020646
ORDER SPECIFYING COSTS SHIFTED
APRIL 17, 2023
On April 5, 2023, OAH issued an Order Shifting Costs for Attorney Misconduct in this matter that shifted costs incurred by Yuba City to Attorney Sheila Bayne. The reasons for that Order and the procedural history that led to it are set forth in the Order and need not be repeated here.
On April 11, 2023, Yuba City filed a response to the Order Shifting Costs, accompanied by the declarations of attorneys Dee Anna Hassanpour and Anisha Asher.
OAH has received no response to Yuba City’s cost statement from Student.
Yuba City’s response and accompanying declarations establish that it incurred $968 in costs due to the misconduct described in the Order Shifting Costs. Each attorney states her hourly rate and sets forth separately the amount of time she spent on each phase of the pleadings Yuba City was required to file, and on appearances at the prehearing conference on March 27, 2023. OAH has examined this statement of costs and finds the expenditures it describes reasonable in all respects.
ORDER
1. Within 30 days of the date of this Order, attorney Sheila C. Bayne shall pay
$968 to Yuba City, through its attorneys, to defray the costs of litigation occasioned by her misconduct.
2. Attorney Bayne shall pay the above amount personally and not pass the cost
to a client.
3. Within 35 days of the date of this order, Yuba City shall file with OAH a
statement showing whether the full amount assessed has been properly paid.
Charles Marson Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings