Maria Andaya v. Secretary of Health and Human Services

In the United States Court of Federal Claims OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS No. 09-678V Filed: March 14, 2013 Not for Publication ************************************* MARIA ANDAYA, * * Petitioner, * Attorneys’ Fees & Costs Decision v. * Based on Unopposed Amended * Application for Attorneys’ Fees & SECRETARY OF HEALTH * Costs AND HUMAN SERVICES, * * Respondent. * * ************************************* Ronald C. Homer, Boston, MA, for petitioner. Glenn A. MacLeod, Washington, DC, for respondent. MILLMAN, Special Master DECISION AWARDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS1 On March 14, 2013, petitioner filed an Unopposed Amended Application for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs. In accordance with the General Order #9 requirement, petitioner’s counsel asserts that petitioner personally incurred $404.15 in costs in pursuit of her petition. On February 26, 2013, petitioner filed an Application for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs. During informal discussions, respondent raised objections to certain items. Based on these 1 Because this unpublished decision contains a reasoned explanation for the special master's action in this case, the special master intends to post this unpublished decision on the United States Court of Federal Claims's website, in accordance with the E-Government Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-347, 116 Stat. 2899, 2913 (Dec. 17, 2002). Vaccine Rule 18(b) states that all decisions of the special masters will be made available to the public unless they contain trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is privileged and confidential, or medical or similar information whose disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. When such a decision is filed, petitioner has 14 days to identify and move to redact such information prior to the document=s disclosure. If the special master, upon review, agrees that the identified material fits within the banned categories listed above, the special master shall redact such material from public access. objections, petitioner now amends her request for attorneys’ fees and costs and requests $88,015.85 in attorneys’ fees and costs incurred by Conway, Homer & Chin-Caplan, PC. Respondent does not object to the reduced amount. The undersigned finds this amount to be reasonable. Accordingly, the court awards: a. $88,015.85, representing reimbursement for attorneys’ fees and costs. The award shall be in the form of a check payable jointly to petitioner and Conway, Homer & Chin-Caplan, PC, in the amount of $88,015.85. b. $404.15, representing reimbursement for petitioner’s personal litigation costs. The award shall be in the form of a check payable to petitioner in the amount of $404.15. In the absence of a motion for review filed pursuant to RCFC Appendix B, the clerk of the court is directed to enter judgment herewith.2 IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: March 14, 2013 /s/ Laura D. Millman Laura D. Millman Special Master 2 Pursuant to Vaccine Rule 11(a), entry of judgment can be expedited by each party=s filing a notice renouncing the right to seek review. 2