Source: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/504
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 14:05:53+00:00

Document:
A party seeking an award of fees and other expenses shall, within thirty days of a final disposition in the adversary adjudication, submit to the agency an application which shows that the party is a prevailing party and is eligible to receive an award under this section, and the amount sought, including an itemized statement from any attorney, agent, or expert witness representing or appearing in behalf of the party stating the actual time expended and the rate at which fees and other expenses were computed. The party shall also allege that the position of the agency was not substantially justified. When the United States appeals the underlying merits of an adversary adjudication, no decision on an application for fees and other expenses in connection with that adversary adjudication shall be made under this section until a final and unreviewable decision is rendered by the court on the appeal or until the underlying merits of the case have been finally determined pursuant to the appeal.
The adjudicative officer of the agency may reduce the amount to be awarded, or deny an award, to the extent that the party during the course of the proceedings engaged in conduct which unduly and unreasonably protracted the final resolution of the matter in controversy. The decision of the adjudicative officer of the agency under this section shall be made a part of the record containing the final decision of the agency and shall include written findings and conclusions and the reason or basis therefor. The decision of the agency on the application for fees and other expenses shall be the final administrative decision under this section.
If, in an adversary adjudication arising from an agency action to enforce a party’s compliance with a statutory or regulatory requirement, the demand by the agency is substantially in excess of the decision of the adjudicative officer and is unreasonable when compared with such decision, under the facts and circumstances of the case, the adjudicative officer shall award to the party the fees and other expenses related to defending against the excessive demand, unless the party has committed a willful violation of law or otherwise acted in bad faith, or special circumstances make an award unjust. Fees and expenses awarded under this paragraph shall be paid only as a consequence of appropriations provided in advance.
“demand” means the express demand of the agency which led to the adversary adjudication, but does not include a recitation by the agency of the maximum statutory penalty (i) in the administrative complaint, or (ii) elsewhere when accompanied by an express demand for a lesser amount.
Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (1), the definitions provided in section 551 of this title apply to this section.
After consultation with the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States, each agency shall by rule establish uniform procedures for the submission and consideration of applications for an award of fees and other expenses. If a court reviews the underlying decision of the adversary adjudication, an award for fees and other expenses may be made only pursuant to section 2412(d)(3) of title 28.
If a party other than the United States is dissatisfied with a determination of fees and other expenses made under subsection (a), that party may, within 30 days after the determination is made, appeal the determination to the court of the United States having jurisdiction to review the merits of the underlying decision of the agency adversary adjudication. The court’s determination on any appeal heard under this paragraph shall be based solely on the factual record made before the agency. The court may modify the determination of fees and other expenses only if the court finds that the failure to make an award of fees and other expenses, or the calculation of the amount of the award, was unsupported by substantial evidence.
Fees and other expenses awarded under this subsection shall be paid by any agency over which the party prevails from any funds made available to the agency by appropriation or otherwise.
Not later than March 31 of the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, and every fiscal year thereafter, the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States, after consultation with the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration, shall submit to Congress and make publicly available online a report on the amount of fees and other expenses awarded during the preceding fiscal year under this section.
No award may be made under this section for costs, fees, or other expenses which may be awarded under section 7430 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(C)(iv), is Pub. L. 103–141, Nov. 16, 1993, 107 Stat. 1488, which is classified principally to chapter 21B (§ 2000bb et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2000bb of Title 42 and Tables.
The date of enactment of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, referred to in subsecs. (e)(1) and (f), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 116–9, which was approved Mar. 12, 2019.
Section 7430 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in subsec. (i), is classified to section 7430 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
2019—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 116–9, § 4201(a)(1)(A), struck out “, United States Code” after “title 28”.
Subsecs. (f) to (i). Pub. L. 116–9, § 4201(a)(1)(B), (C), added subsecs. (f) to (h) and redesignated former subsec. (f) as (i).
2011—Subsec. (b)(1)(C)(ii). Pub. L. 111–350 substituted “section 7103 of title 41” for “section 6 of the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C. 605)” and “section 7105 of title 41” for “section 8 of that Act (41 U.S.C. 607)”.
1996—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 104–121, § 231(a), added par. (4).
Subsec. (b)(1)(A)(ii). Pub. L. 104–121, § 231(b)(1), substituted “$125” for “$75”.
Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 104–121, § 231(b)(2), inserted before semicolon at end “or for purposes of subsection (a)(4), a small entity as defined in section 601”.
Subsec. (b)(1)(F). Pub. L. 104–121, § 231(b)(3)–(5), added subpar. (F).
1993—Subsec. (b)(1)(C). Pub. L. 103–141 added cl. (iv).
1988—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100–647 added subsec. (f).
1986—Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 99–514 substituted “Internal Revenue Code of 1986” for “Internal Revenue Code of 1954”.
Subsec. (b)(1)(C)(iii). Pub. L. 99–509 added cl. (iii).
Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 99–80, § 1(c)(1), amended subpar. (B) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (B) read as follows: “ ‘party’ means a party, as defined in section 551(3) of this title, which is an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or public or private organization other than an agency, but excludes (i) any individual whose net worth exceeded $1,000,000 at the time the adversary adjudication was initiated, and any sole owner of an unincorporated business, or any partnership, corporation, association, or organization whose net worth exceeded $5,000,000 at the time the adversary adjudication was initiated, except that an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of the Code and a cooperative association as defined in section 15(a) of the Agricultural Marketing Act (12 U.S.C. 1141j(a)), may be a party regardless of the net worth of such organization or cooperative association, and (ii) any sole owner of an unincorporated business, or any partnership, corporation, association, or organization, having more than 500 employees at the time the adversary adjudication was initiated;”.
Subsec. (b)(1)(C). Pub. L. 99–80, § 1(c)(2), designated existing provisions of subpar. (C) as cl. (i) thereof by inserting “(i)” before “an adjudication under”, added cl. (ii), and struck out “and” after the semicolon at the end.
Subsec. (b)(1)(D), (E). Pub. L. 99–80, § 1(c)(3), substituted “; and” for the period at end of subpar. (D), and added subpar. (E).
“(1) Fees and other expenses awarded under this section may be paid by any agency over which the party prevails from any funds made available to the agency, by appropriation or otherwise, for such purpose. If not paid by any agency, the fees and other expenses shall be paid in the same manner as the payment of final judgments is made pursuant to section 2414 of title 28, United States Code.
1980—Pub. L. 96–481, § 203(c), which provided for the repeal of this section effective Oct. 1, 1984, was itself repealed and this section was revived by section 6 of Pub. L. 99–80, set out as a note below.
Amendment by Pub. L. 100–647 applicable to proceedings commencing after Nov. 10, 1988, see section 6239(d) of Pub. L. 100–647, set out as a note under section 7430 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
Amendment by Pub. L. 99–509 effective Oct. 21, 1986, and applicable to any claim or statement made, presented or submitted on or after such date, see section 6104 of Pub. L. 99–509, set out as an Effective Date note under section 3801 of Title 31, Money and Finance.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the amendments made by this Act [reviving and amending this section and section 2412(d) of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, and amending and repealing provisions set out as notes under those sections] shall apply to cases pending on or commenced on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 5, 1985].
The amendments made by this Act shall apply to any case commenced on or after October 1, 1984, and finally disposed of before the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 5, 1985], except that in any such case, the 30-day period referred to in section 504(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, or section 2412(d)(1)(B) of title 28, United States Code, as the case may be, shall be deemed to commence on the date of the enactment of this Act.
Pub. L. 96–481, title II, § 203(c), Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2327, which provided that effective Oct. 1, 1984, this section is repealed, except that the provisions of this section shall continue to apply through final disposition of any adversary adjudication initiated before the date of repeal, was itself repealed by Pub. L. 99–80, § 6(b)(1), Aug. 5, 1985, 99 Stat. 186.
For termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions in subsec. (e) of this section relating to annual report to Congress on the amount of fees and other expenses, see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and page 153 of House Document No. 103–7.
Section 504 of title 5, United States Code, and the item relating to that section in the table of sections of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, and subsection (d) of section 2412 of title 28, United States Code, shall be effective on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 5, 1985] as if they had not been repealed by sections 203(c) and 204(c) of the Equal Access to Justice Act [Pub. L. 96–481].
Section 203(c) of the Equal Access to Justice Act [which repealed this section] is hereby repealed.
The Congress finds that certain individuals, partnerships, corporations, and labor and other organizations may be deterred from seeking review of, or defending against, unreasonable governmental action because of the expense involved in securing the vindication of their rights in civil actions and in administrative proceedings.
The Congress further finds that because of the greater resources and expertise of the United States the standard for an award of fees against the United States should be different from the standard governing an award against a private litigant, in certain situations.
Pub. L. 96–481, title II, § 207, Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2330, which provided that the payment of judgments, fees and other expenses in the same manner as the payment of final judgments as provided in this Act [probably should be “this title”, see Short Title note above] would be effective only to the extent and in such amounts as are provided in advance in appropriation Acts, was repealed by Pub. L. 99–80, § 4, Aug. 5, 1985, 99 Stat. 186.

References: § 4201
 § 4201
 § 231
 § 231
 § 231
 § 231
 § 1
 § 1
 § 1
 § 203
 § 203
 § 6
 § 207
 § 4