Supreme Court to Address Whether Experts' Fees Included In Fee Award

A number of federal statutes permit the district court to award attorneys’ fees and costs to the prevailing party. In Murphy v. Arlington Central School Dist. Bd. of Educ., 402 F.3d 332 (2d Cir. 2005), the court allowed the award not only of attorneys’ fees but also the fees of an expert “educational consultant” under the fee-shifting provisions of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted the school district’s petition for certiorari, limited solely to the question of whether the statute allowing the court to “award reasonable attorneys’ fees as part of the costs” to the prevailing party also allows the award of experts’ fees. Arlington Central School Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Murphy, No. 05-18 (Jan. 5, 2006).