Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/542/70/2284100/
Timestamp: 2019-09-22 16:22:38
Document Index: 495275344

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1988', '§ 794', '§ 1988', '§ 794', '§ 1415', '§ 794', '§ 1983', '§ 1415', '§ 1988', '§ 1415']

Noe v. Ambach, 542 F. Supp. 70 (S.D.N.Y. 1982) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › District Courts › New York › Southern District of New York › 1982 › Noe v. Ambach
Noe v. Ambach, 542 F. Supp. 70 (S.D.N.Y. 1982)
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - 542 F. Supp. 70 (S.D.N.Y. 1982)
542 F. Supp. 70 (1982)
Mare NOE and John Noe, a minor by his mother, Mary Noe, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Gordon AMBACH, individually and in his capacity as the Commissioner of Education of the State of New York; the Board of Education of the City of New York; Joseph G. Barkan, individually and in his capacity as President of the Board of Education of the City of New York; James F. Regan, Miguel O. Martinez, Irene Impellizzeri, Amelia Ashe, Robert J. Christen, Marjorie Lewis, individually, and in their capacity as members of the Board of Education of the City of New York; Gerry Gross, individually and in his capacity as Executive Director of the Division of Special Education, Defendants.
No. 80 Civ. 5212 (WCC).
*71 Jeffrey D. Robertson, New York City, for plaintiff in Administrative Proceedings, Frederick A. O. Schwarz, Jr., Corp. Counsel for the City of N. Y., New York City, for City defendants; Stephen P. Kramer, Susan R. Rosenberg, New York City, Asst. Corp. Counsels, of counsel.
Robert D. Stone, Albany, for State Defendants New York State Educ. Dept.; Paul E. Sherman, Albany, N. Y., of counsel.
Presently before the Court is the motion of plaintiffs for an award of attorney's fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 and 29 U.S.C. § 794a(b) for the efforts of Jeffrey D. Robertson, Esq. ("Robertson"). Robertson did not represent plaintiffs before this Court; rather, he represented plaintiffs at certain state administrative proceedings which must be pursued prior to the bringing of any court action under the EAHCA. It is not disputed that plaintiffs are the prevailing parties within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 1988 and 29 U.S.C. § 794a(b). The sole issue is whether, under these circumstances, those statutes authorize the award of attorney's fees incurred solely in connection with state administrative proceedings.[1]
*72 DISCUSSION
"Under the American Rule it is well-established that attorney's fees `are not ordinarily recoverable in the absence of a statute or enforceable contract providing therefor.'" Summit Valley Industries, Inc. v. Local 112, United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 102 S. Ct. 2112, 2114-15, 72 L. Ed. 2d 511 (1982), quoting from Fleischmann Distilling Corp. v. Maier Brewing Co., 386 U.S. 714, 717, 87 S. Ct. 1404, 1406, 18 L. Ed. 2d 475 (1967). The EAHCA, while requiring that state administrative remedies be exhausted before filing suit in state or federal court, see 20 U.S.C. § 1415, makes no provisions for the award of attorney's fees. Hymes v. Harnett County Board of Education, 664 F.2d 410, 412 (4th Cir. 1981) (reh'g denied, January 7, 1982). Accordingly, Robertson is not entitled to attorney's fees under the EAHCA.
The RA does specifically provide for an award of attorney's fees to the prevailing party in an action to enforce provisions contained therein. See 29 U.S.C. § 794a(b). However, unlike the EAHCA, exhaustion of state administrative remedies before bringing a court action is not required by the RA.[2]
In Maine v. Thiboutot, 448 U.S. 1, 100 S. Ct. 2502, 65 L. Ed. 2d 555 (1980), the Supreme Court held that violation of a federal statute could be the basis of an action under Section 1983, and that a prevailing plaintiff in such an action may recover attorney's fees under Section 1988. In two subsequent decisions, however, the Supreme Court enunciated two exceptions to its holding in Thiboutot, only the first of which is relevant here. "When remedial devices provided in a particular act are sufficiently comprehensive, they may suffice to demonstrate congressional intent to preclude the remedy of suits under § 1983." Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Association, 453 U.S. 1, 20, 101 S. Ct. 2615, 2626, 69 L. Ed. 2d 435 (1981). See *73 also Pennhurst State School and Hospital, et al. v. Halderman, et al., 451 U.S. 1, 28, 101 S. Ct. 1531, 1545, 67 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1981); Uniformed Firefighters Association v. City of New York, 676 F.2d 20 (2d Cir. 1982). The inquiry in National Sea Clammers, which involved the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, focused on whether Congress had intended to foreclose a private right of action under Section 1983 by including comprehensive enforcement mechanisms in these two acts.
In view of the express authorization for a private right of action in the EAHCA, as well as the comprehensive scheme of state administrative proceedings contained in 20 U.S.C. § 1415 of that Act, it is clear Congress has indicated that a violation of the EAHCA may not be the basis of an action under Section 1983. E.g., Anderson v. Thompson, 658 F.2d 1205, 1215 (7th Cir. 1981). The latter action would be, at least in the circumstances of this case, entirely redundant of the EAHCA cause of action, and would serve "no purpose other than that of a conduit for attorney's fees." Tatro v. State of Texas, 516 F. Supp. 968, 984 (N.D.Tex.1981). To permit resort to Section 1983 solely to obtain attorney's fees would be inconsistent with Congress' omission of such a provision from the EAHCA. Thus, where "section 1983 has no greater role than the statute it purportedly enforces, its citation will not trigger the § 1988 attorney fee provision." Id. Accordingly, this Court will not allow Robertson to circumvent the absence of a provision permitting recovery of attorney's fees in the EAHCA by merely invoking Section 1983. See Hymes, supra, 664 F.2d 410; Anderson v. Thompson, supra, 658 F.2d 1205; Ruth Anne M. v. Alvin Independent School District, et al., 532 F. Supp. 460 (S.D.Tex.1982); Tatro, supra, 516 F. Supp. 968 (awarding attorney's fees under Section 794a(b) of the RA, but not under Section 1988).
Robertson's reliance on the Second Circuit's recent decision in Jose P. v. Ambach, 669 F.2d 865 (2d Cir. 1982), to support his request for attorney's fees under Section 1988 is misplaced. While the Court in Jose P. did award attorney's fees to plaintiffs who successfully settled claims under the EAHCA, the RA and assertedly also Section 1983, the Court indicated in a footnote that the question of the viability of a Section 1983 claim for violation of rights under the EAHCA was a question it did not have to reach, since the plaintiffs under the circumstances of that case were entitled to an award of their attorney's fees under the RA in any event. See id. at 871 n.4. Thus, Jose P. is not inconsistent with this decision and the decisions of other courts upon which this Court relies.[3]
This Court thus finds no relevant authority supporting Robertson's request for attorney's fees under Section 1988.
For the above-stated reasons, Robertson's motion for attorney's fees is denied.
[1] The question of plaintiffs' entitlement to attorney's fees for the prosecution of this action before this Court (by attorneys other than Robertson) is not at issue here. Thus, for convenience, this motion will hereafter be referred to as Robertson's motion for attorney's fees.
[2] No statute requires, and no court has held, that a plaintiff must exhaust state administrative remedies required by 20 U.S.C. § 1415 of the EAHCA before bringing a claim under the RA. A different and separate issue is whether a plaintiff must exhaust federal administrative remedies available for a claim under the RA before filing suit. This issue, however, does not affect the instant motion because the state administrative proceedings were conducted exclusively pursuant to the EAHCA, and are not even arguably the same as federal administrative remedies available for RA claims.
[3] To the extent this Court's ruling is inconsistent with Department of Education v. Valenzuela, 524 F. Supp. 261 (D.Hawaii 1981) or Mattie T. v. Holladay, 522 F. Supp. 72 (N.D.Miss.1981), I respectfully disagree. Neither of these two decisions addressed the question of the viability of a Section 1983 action for alleged deprivation of rights provided by the EAHCA or the impact of the Supreme Court's decision in National Sea Clammers on that question.