Opinion ID: 772424
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Award of Fees for General Accounting Office Proceedings

Text: 34 The Government asserts that Maritime should not have been compensated for fees incurred during the GAO proceedings as they are not compensable under the EAJA. The Government contends that these proceedings constitute administrative consideration of a claim, and therefore are not associated with the pursuit of a civil action as required by 28 U.S.C. 2412. Maritime agrees that in the ordinary analysis claimants may not recover fees and expenses incurred during an award protest filed before the GAO, but argues that because the Government's bad faith conduct before the GAO deprived Maritime of an opportunity for fair review at the administrative stage, an award of these fees is proper in this case. 35 The EAJA only permits assessment of fees against the Government to a prevailing party in a civil action. See 28 U.S.C. 2412(b) & (d). In this context, the words civil action include proceedings for judicial review of agency action and appeals of decisions made by a contracting officer rendered pursuant to a disputes clause in a contract with the Government or pursuant to the Contract Disputes Act of 1978. 28 U.S.C. 2412(d)(1)(A) & (d)(2)(E). Because GAO proceedings do not fit either of these categories, and because they are not adversary adjudications as comprehended by 5 U.S.C. 504(b)(1)(C), see 28 U.S.C. 2412(d)(3), they are generally not compensable under the EAJA. Vibra-Tech Engineers, Inc. v. United States, 787 F.2d 1416, 1419-20 (10th Cir.1986). 36 However, where administrative proceedings are intimately tied to the resolution of the judicial action, the administrative proceeding may sometimes be considered a part of the civil case for which fees are awarded. Pollgreen v. Morris, 911 F.2d 527, 534 (11th Cir.1990). 16 Maritime would have us find that the Government's bad faith before the GAO denied it of a fair opportunity for relief at the administrative level, making an award of fees for those proceedings proper. However, unlike the plaintiffs in Pollgreen, Maritime did not seek administrative relief on remand from the district court. See id. at 534. Additionally, the district court did not find that the Government's bad faith prevented Maritime from seeking relief at the administrative level. Because the EAJA is a waiver of sovereign immunity and as such must be strictly construed, Haitian Refugee Center v. Meese, 791 F.2d 1489, 1494 (11th Cir.1986), vacated in part on other grounds, 804 F.2d 1573, 1573 (11th Cir.1986), and because the award of attorneys' fees incurred before the GAO is improper under these facts, we reverse that part of the district court's order that awards fees incurred before commencement of the action in the district court. 37