Opinion ID: 1212339
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether Distinctive Skills Were Needful to the Litigation

Text: Under Love, Plaintiffs must also show that counsel's distinctive knowledge and skills were needful to the litigation in order to justify fees above the statutory cap. Love, 924 F.2d at 1496. In considering whether Plaintiffs have met this standard, we note at the outset that this case involved more than a straightforward application of the APA and the NEPA. Cf. Thangaraja v. Gonzales, 428 F.3d 870, 876 (9th Cir.2005) (denying enhanced fees for an immigration attorney specializing in asylum law because the case at issue involved merely a straightforward application of immigration law). To adequately craft the complaint and negotiate a settlement agreement under the circumstances of this case, counsel's knowledge of the Navy's exercises in RIMPAC and the effect of sonar on marine mammals was necessary. See Love, 924 F.2d at 1496 (attorney's knowledge of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act as well as familiarity with areas of expert testimony necessary to obtain a preliminary injunction on a short timeframe constituted distinctive knowledge needful for litigation). In addition, the billing records indicate that the junior NRDC attorneys worked both on preparing the expert declarations and on possible mitigation measures. On these facts, and in light of the district court's intimate knowledge of the litigation and each attorney's participation, we hold that the district court acted within its discretion in finding that the distinctive skills of NRDC's attorneys and the Irell senior partner were needful to the litigation.