Ramon
Ramon v. Kern High School District
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM *
The Ramons brought this action under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) as parents of an autistic daughter, Dianna Ramon. They seek attorney’s fees for Joyce Coger, the attorney who successfully represented them in their administrative dispute with the local school district over the education of Dianna. See 20 U.S.C. § 1415 (i)(3)(C) (IDEA fee-shifting provision for prevailing plaintiffs). The Ramons also seek attorneys’ fees for Patrick Smith and Steven Berlin, attorneys who represented them in the district court and here. The facts are familiar to the parties, and we therefore do not recite them here except as necessary.
We review the award of attorneys’ fees for abuse of discretion. Quesada v. Thomason, 850 F.2d 537, 538 (9th Cir.1988). The Ramons do not challenge the award of costs.
The district court’s reduction of Ms. Coger’s hours was within its discretion. Although the reduction from 1,149.6 hours to 600 hours was significant, this was not an unreasonable adjustment. Ms. Coger had been an attorney for less than two years when she represented the Ramons, and Dianna’s was her first IDEA case. Accordingly, the district court could *629…