Opinion ID: 2996086
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Krecioch’s Classification of the Fees

Text: Krecioch claims that under the EAJA, he is entitled to the costs of $2,800.00 paid to a person who is trained as a paralegal. Krecioch attempts to argue that he incurred these costs through “a study and analysis of forfeiture No. 02-1025 5 laws.” This contradicts earlier descriptions of the services which he said constituted “researching [and] drafting motions” in the district court, appellate court, and the Supreme Court. It was only midway through the litigation that he attempted to recharacterize the paralegal fees as an expense for the “study and analysis of plaintiff’s case.” The district court found Krecioch’s attempt “to re-characterize the $2,800 paralegal bill as a ‘cost of study’ unpersuasive.” We do not think such a finding constitutes an abuse of discretion. At some point, Krecioch realized his attempts to win attorney’s fees as a pro se litigant was a loser. It was only then that he decided to rename these costs fees incurred for the “study and analysis of forfeiture laws.”2 We need only consider Krecioch’s statements in his affidavit in which he swore that he hired the paralegal to “draft and type the complaint and other necessary motions and briefs.” He also stated the paralegal “represented the case” throughout the litigation. This describes the activities of an attorney. Krecioch points out that the district court never found the work reflected in the $2,800.00 bill unnecessary or unreasonable. The district court had no need to engage in such an analysis; it had already classified the costs as attorney’s fees, making further consideration unnecessary. Fees for work done by paralegals can be awarded under the fee-shifting provision of the EAJA. See Hirschey v. F.E.R.C., 777 F.2d 1, 6 (D.C. Cir. 1985). The fees incurred by Krecioch, according to his own multiple descriptions, were not however, for paralegal work. Nor could this work be described as “study and analysis,” as envisioned by the EAJA. Any form of work, whether done by a clerk, 2 Krecioch never attempts to defend or otherwise explain his recharacteriztion of the fees midway through the litigation. 6 No. 02-1025 paralegal, or attorney, involves some degree of study and analysis. If we were to adopt Krecioch’s argument, then any work, regardless of its author or circumstances, could be described as study and analysis. We do not think Congress intended such a result. For these reasons, we find the fees incurred by Krecioch for the drafting of legal documents and motions may not be classified as costs of study and analysis as contemplated by the EAJA.