Golden Gate Audobon Society, Inc. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers
Opinion
Opinion
Henderson, J.
ORDER
On August 30, 1988, this Court found that plaintiffs were entitled to an interim award of attorney’s fees against the United States Army Corps of Engineers (hereafter “Corps” or “defendants”) under the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412 (d)(1)(A), based on their success to date in this litigation. We also approved an hourly rate of $160 for plaintiffs’ attorneys Alan Waltner and Roy Gorman. However, we directed the parties to meet and confer with respect to a reasonable number of compensable hours. Unfortunately, the parties were unable to resolve this matter; thus, we are now called upon to determine a reasonable fee award. In addition, plaintiffs urge the Court to make an additional finding relevant to the hourly rate issue in light of recent Ninth Circuit authority. Finally, they seek reconsideration of this Court’s determination that plaintiffs are not entitled to fees against the Corps under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1365. Each of these issues will be addressed in turn.
A. DETERMINATION OF REASONABLE ATTORNEY’S FEES
Under EAJA, the amount of fees to be awarded is calculated by multiplying the number of “reasonable hours times a reasonable…