Opinion ID: 683512
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Attorney's fees for pro se litigants

Text: 14 We consider first whether a pro se litigant may recover attorney's fees under this statute. In Kay v. Ehrler, 499 U.S. 432, 111 S.Ct. 1435, 113 L.Ed.2d 486 (1991), the Supreme Court held that under the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1988, a pro se litigant, even if the litigant is an attorney, may not recover attorney's fees. The court held that the term attorney contemplates an agency relationship that is absent in the pro se context. 15 Although we recognize that there are significant differences between 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1988 and the EAJA, which are discussed below, as to the issue of whether the statutory provision for attorney fees presupposes the engagement of an attorney, we think the Supreme Court's decision in Kay should also control under the EAJA. See West Virginia Univ. Hosps., Inc. v. Casey, 499 U.S. 83, 88, 111 S.Ct. 1138, 1141, 113 L.Ed.2d 68 (1991); Indep. Fed'n of Flight Attendants v. Zipes, 491 U.S. 754, 758 n. 2, 109 S.Ct. 2732, 2735 n. 2, 105 L.Ed.2d 639 (1989). 16 The courts of appeals that have ruled on this question under the EAJA have held that a litigant who does not hire an attorney is not entitled to reimbursement for attorney's fees. 2 See, e.g., Hexamer v. Foreness, 997 F.2d 93, 94 (5th Cir.1993); Demarest v. Manspeaker, 948 F.2d 655 (10th Cir.1991), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 1298, 117 L.Ed.2d 520 (1992); Merrell v. Block, 809 F.2d 639, 642 (9th Cir.1987). We hold, under the reasoning of Kay, that a pro se litigant may not recover attorney's fees under the EAJA. 3 17 Kaufman's reliance on Sommer v. Sullivan, 898 F.2d 895 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 980, 111 S.Ct. 508, 112 L.Ed.2d 520 (1990), is misplaced. We did not say in Sommer that a pro se litigant was entitled to EAJA attorney's fees. We said merely that, even if other pro se litigants have such an entitlement, incarcerated pro se litigants do not.