Opinion ID: 780458
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Vexatious Conduct

Text: 27 Appellants may recover fees and costs if they can prove that any of the Government's actions were vexatious. Appellants have ultimately failed to satisfy their burden of proof. Vexatious has both a subjective and objective element: subjectively, the Government must have acted maliciously or with an intent to harass Appellants; objectively, the suit must be deficient or without merit. 12 To prove vexatiousness, the defendant must show the Government had some ill intent. 13 28 Appellants have failed to prove the subjective element of vexatiousness. Nothing in the record suggests that the Government was intentionally malicious or harassing toward Appellants. The fact that the Government pursued an investigation based on a vengeful tipster is not dispositive. Tipsters, by their nature, often hold grudges against the reported parties. It does not follow that the Government harassed, acted maliciously, or with an ill intent simply because it followed up on such a tip. 29 As for the objective element, the district court found that the Government's position had sufficient merit to submit the case to a jury. The district court did note that the Government acted with deliberate indifference in pursuing this investigation. On this, we agree; clearly the Government's performance was significantly below desirable standards. However, we cannot say that the district court abused its discretion when it concluded that the poor performance in this case did not rise to the level of vexatiousness under the Hyde Amendment. 30 Appellants also claim that the Government presented the jury with erroneous and misleading summary charts. We disagree. The record shows that the Government's charts were, at most, presented in a light most favorable to its position. 14 Appellants do not claim that the charts were patently false, only that they were not as complete as Appellants would have liked them. The district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the Government did not act vexatiously. 15 31