Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/18-801_o758.pdf
Page Number: 5.0

Cite as:  589 U. S. ____ (2019) 

3 

Opinion of the Court 

Rule”—the background principle that parties are responsi-
ble  for  their  own  attorney’s  fees.    NantKwest,  Inc.  v.  Lee, 
162 F. Supp. 3d 540, 542 (ED Va. 2016).  A divided Federal 
Circuit  panel  reversed,  with  Judge  Stoll  dissenting. 
NantKwest, Inc. v. Matal, 860 F. 3d 1352 (2017).  The ma-
jority expressed “substantial doub[t ]” that §145 even impli-
cated the American Rule’s presumption against fee shifting 
in a case in which the payment was not made to a prevailing 
party.  Id., at 1355.  The majority concluded that, even as-
suming the American Rule presumption applied, the term
“expenses” in §145 “specific[ally]” and “explicit[ly]” author-
ized an award of fees.  Id., at 1356. 

The  en  banc  Federal  Circuit  voted  sua sponte  to  rehear 
the case and reversed the panel over a dissent.  NantKwest, 
Inc.  v.  Iancu,  898  F. 3d  1177,  1184  (2018).    The  majority
opinion—now  authored  by  Judge  Stoll—held  that  the 
American  Rule  presumption  applied  to  §145  because  it  is 
“the starting point whenever a party seeks to shift fees from 
one side to the other in adversarial litigation.”  Id., at 1184 
(citing Baker Botts L. L. P. v. ASARCO LLC, 576 U. S. 121, 
___ (2015)).  After examining the plain text and statutory 
history of §145, the judicial and congressional understand-
ing of similar language, and overarching policy considera-
tions, the majority concluded that “[a]warding ‘[a]ll the ex-
penses’  simply  cannot  supply  the  ‘specific  and  explicit’ 
directive from Congress to shift attorneys’ fees, and nothing
else  in  the  statute  evinces  congressional  intent  to  make
them available.”  898 F. 3d, at 1196 (quoting Alyeska Pipe-
line  Service  Co.  v.  Wilderness  Society,  421  U. S.  240,  260 
(1975)).  We  granted  certiorari,  586  U. S.  ___  (2019),  and 
now affirm. 

II 
This Court’s “ ‘basic point of reference’ when considering
the award of attorney’s fees is the bedrock principle known