# In the United States Court of Federal Claims

OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS No. 17

- 0810 V Filed: May 17, 2019 UNPUBLISHED

ALYSSA HILT

,
Petitioner,

v.

SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,

Respondent. Spe cial Processing Unit (SPU); Attorneys’ Fees and Costs

Shealene Priscilla Mancuso, Muller Brazil, LLP, Dresher, PA , for petitioner. Darryl R. Wishard , U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for respondent.

DECISION ON ATTORNEY S’ FEES AND COSTS 1

Dor sey, Chief Special Master:

On June 15, 2017

, Alyssa Hilt (“ petitioner ”) filed a petition for compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, 42 U.S.C. §300aa

- 10, et seq. , 2 (the “Vaccine Act”). Petitioner alleges that she suffered a right shoulder injury as a result of an influenza (“flu”) vaccine she received October 19, 2015 . Petition at 1. On January 23, 2019, the undersigned issued a decision awarding compensa tion to petitioner based on the parties’ stipulation

. ECF No. 67

.
On April 16, 2019 , petitioner filed a motion for attorneys’ fees and costs. ECF No. 71 . Petitioner requests attorneys’ fees in the amount of $ 17,656.90 and attorneys’

1 The undersigned intends to post this decision on the United States Court of Federal Claims' website. This means the decision will be available to anyone with access to the Internet. In accordance with Vaccine Rule 18(b), petitioner has 14 days to identify and move to redact medical or other information, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. If, upon review, the undersigned agrees that the identified material fits within this definition, the undersigned will redact su ch material from public access. Because this unpublished decision contains a reasoned explanation for the action in this case, the undersigned is required to post it on the United States Court of Federal Claims' website in accordance with the E

- Government Act of 2002. 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2012) (Federal Management and Promotion of Electronic Government Services).

2 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99

- 660, 100 Stat. 3755. Hereinafter, for ease of citation, all “§” references to the Vaccine Act will be to the pertinent subparagraph of 42 U.S.C. § 300aa (2012 ).2 costs in the amount of $ 1,501.33

. Id. at 2

. In compliance with General Order #9, petitioner filed a signed statement indicating that petitioner incurred no out

- of

- pocket expenses. Id. at 2. Thus, the total amount requested is $ 19,158.23

.

On April 17, 2019 , respondent filed a response to petitioner’s motion. ECF No. 72

. Respondent states that he “is satisfied the statutory requirements for an award of attorneys’ fees and costs are met in this case.” Id. at 2. Respondent “respectfully recommends that the Chief Special Master exercise her discretion and determine a reasonable award for attorneys’ fees and costs.” Id. at 3.

Petitioner filed no reply.

The undersigned has reviewed the billing records su bmitted with petitioner’s request and finds a reduction in the amount of fees to be awarded ap propriate for the reason listed below

I. Legal Standard

The Vaccine Act permits an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs

. § 15(e). Counsel must submit fee requests that include contemporaneous and specific billing records indicating the service performed, the number of hours expended on the service, and the name of the person performing the service. See Savin v. Sec’y of Health & Hum an Servs. , 85 Fed. Cl. 313, 316

- 18 (2008). Counsel should not include in their fee requests hours that are “excessive, redundant, or otherwise unnecessary.” Saxton v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs. , 3 F.3d 1517, 1521 (Fed. Cir. 1993) (quoting Hensley v. Eckerhart , 461 U.S. 424, 434 (1983)). It is “well within the special master’s discretion to reduce the hours to a number that, in [her] experience and judgment, [is] reasonable for the work done.” Id. at 1522. Furthermore, the special master may reduce a fee request sua sponte , apart from objections raised by respondent and without providing a petitioner notice and opportunity to respond. See Sabella v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs. , 86 Fed. Cl. 201, 209 (2009). A special master need not engage in a l ine

- by

- line analysis of petitioner’s fee application when reducing fees. Broekelschen v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs. , 102 Fed. Cl. 719, 729 (2011).

The p etitioner “bears the burden of establishing the hours expended , the rates charged, and the expenses incu rred.” Wasson v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 24 Cl. Ct. at 482, 484 (1991). She “should present adequate proof [of the attorneys’ fees and costs sought] at the time of the submission.” Id. at 484 n.1. Petitioner’s counsel “should make a good faith effort to exclude from a fee request hours that are excessive, redundant, or otherwise unnecessary, just as a lawyer in private practice ethically is obligated to exclude such hours from his fee submission.” Hensley , 461 U.S. , at 434.3 II. Attorney Fees

A. Paralegal Rates

Petitioner requests compensation for paralegal Tereza Pavlacsek at the rate of $150 per hour for time billed in 2019 , however there was no supporting documentation filed to support such a large hourly increase. The undersig ned will award an increased rate for the paralegals for 2019, to the rate of $140 per hour. This results in a reduction of attorney fees requested in the amount of $ 13.00

. 3

B . Administrative Time

Upon review of the billing records submitted, it appears that a number of entries are for tasks considered clerical or administrative. In the Vaccine Program, secretarial work “should be considered as normal overhead office costs included within the attorn eys’ fee rates.” Rochester v. U.S. , 18 Cl. Ct. 379, 387 (1989); Dingle v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs. , No. 08

- 579V, 2014 WL 630473, at *4 (Fed. Cl. Spec. Mstr. Jan. 24, 2014). “[B] illing for clerical and other secretarial work is not permitted in the Vaccine Program. ” Mostovoy , 2016 WL 720969, at *5 (citing Rochester , 18 Cl. Ct. at 387). A total of 2.1 hours was billed by paralegals on tasks considered administrative including, receiving documents, researching private process servers

, sending
correspo ndence and reviewing receipts from the Court. The undersigned reduces the request for attorney fees by $262.50

, 4 the total amount of the entries considered administrative.

III. Attorney Costs

Petitioner requests compensation of attorneys’ costs in the amount of $ 1,501.33

. The undersigned finds the overall amount of costs reasonable and awards the amount requested in full.

IV. Conclusion

Based on the reasonableness of petitioner’s request, the undersigned GRANTS IN PART petitioner’s motion for attorneys’ fees and costs.

Accordingly , the undersigned awards the total of $ 18,882.73 5 as a lump sum in the form of a check jointly payable to petitioner and petitioner’s counsel Shealene Pri s cilla Mancuso

.

3 This amount consists of $150

- $140 = $10 x 1.3 hrs = $13.00.

4 This amount consists of $125 x 2.1 hrs = $262.50.

5 This amount is intended to cover all legal expenses incurred in this matter. This award encompasses all charges by the attorney against a client, “advanced costs” as well as fees for legal services rendered. Furthermore, § 15(e)(3) prevents an attorney from charging or collecting fees (including costs) that would4 The clerk of the court shall enter judgment in accordance herewith. 6

IT IS SO ORDERED.

s/Nora Beth Dorsey Nor a Beth Dorsey Chief Special Master

be in addition to the amount awarded herein. See generally Beck v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs.

, 924 F.2d 1029 (Fed. Cir.1991).

6 Pursuant to Vaccine Rule 11(a), entry of judgment can be expedited by the parties’ joint filing of notice renouncing the right to seek review.