GRANTED IN PART: August 10, 2017
CBCA 5779-C(5179)
PARADISE PILLOW, INC.,
Applicant,
v.
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION,
Respondent.
Daniel A. Bellman of Bellman Law, Granville, OH, counsel for Applicant.
Michael J. Noble, Office of General Counsel, General Services Administration,
Washington, DC, counsel for Respondent.
Before Board Judges DANIELS (Chairman), SOMERS, and ZISCHKAU.
DANIELS, Board Judge.
The Board granted an appeal by Paradise Pillow, Inc. (Paradise) of the deemed denial,
by a General Services Administration (GSA) contracting officer, of a claim for payment
under a delivery order for blankets.  Paradise Pillow, Inc. v. General Services
Administration, CBCA 5179, et al., 17-1 BCA ¶ 36,641.  Within thirty days after the decision
became final (because neither party timely appealed it to the Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit), Paradise filed an application for reimbursement of attorney fees incurred in
prosecuting the appeal, totaling $9500.
The application was filed pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA),
5 U.S.C. § 504 (2012).  The EAJA provides that – 


CBCA 5779-C(5179) 2
an agency that conducts an adversary adjudication shall award, to a prevailing
party other than the United States, fees and other expenses incurred by that
party in connection with that proceeding, unless the adjudicative officer of the
agency finds that the position of the agency was substantially justified or that
special circumstances make an award unjust.
5 U.S.C. § 504(a)(1).  The purpose of the law is “to eliminate the barriers that prohibit small
businesses and individuals from securing vindication of their rights in civil actions and
administrative proceedings brought by or against the Federal Government.”  Scarborough
v. Principi, 541 U.S. 401, 406 (2004) (quoting H.R. Rep. No. 96-1005, at 9 (1980)).
To be eligible under this Act for recovery of fees and other expenses incurred in
connection with a proceeding, an applicant must meet several requirements.  It must:
(1) have been a prevailing party in a proceeding against the United States;
(2) if a corporation, have had not more than $7,000,000 in net worth and five
hundred employees at the time the adversary adjudication was initiated; 
(3) submit its application within thirty days of a final disposition in the
adjudication;
(4) in that application, (a) show that it has met the requirements as to having
prevailed and size (numbers (1) and (2) above) and (b) state the amount sought
and include an itemized statement of costs and attorney fees; and
(5) allege that the position of the agency was not substantially justified.
5 U.S.C. § 504(a)(1), (2), (b)(1)(B); Paradise Pillow, Inc. v. General Services
Administration, CBCA 5237-C(3562), 17-1 BCA ¶ 36,628.
In its application, Paradise, with supporting documentation, has met each of these
requirements.  The applicant made its calculation of attorney fees by multiplying hours
expended by its lawyer by $125 per hour, the maximum rate allowed by the EAJA, save for
exceptions not relevant here.  See 5 U.S.C. § 504(b)(1)(A).  The number of hours devoted
to the appeal by the lawyer appears reasonable.
GSA’s response to the application states in full:

CBCA 5779-C(5179) 3
GSA does not dispute Paradise Pillow’s . . . fee petition in terms of Paradise
Pillow meeting the EAJA eligibility requirements, its status as a prevailing
party, the sufficiency of its billing records, and/or its overall entitlement to the
attorney fees and costs/expenses otherwise sought in that petition.
We make one small deduction from the amount sought by Paradise.  The applicant has
presented time sheets from its lawyer which assert that a total of 76 hours was devoted to the
appeal.  The entries on the time sheets sum, however, to 74.75 hours, rather than 76.  We
consequently grant the application in the amount of $9343.75 (74.75 times $125), rather than
the $9500 sought (76 times $125).
Decision
We GRANT the application IN PART.  The General Services Administration shall
pay $9343.75 to Paradise Pillow, Inc.  This sum shall be paid “from any funds made available
to the agency by appropriation or otherwise.”  5 U.S.C. § 504(d).
_________________________
STEPHEN M. DANIELS
Board Judge
We concur:
_________________________ _________________________
JERI KAYLENE SOMERS JONATHAN D. ZISCHKAU
Board Judge Board Judge