Marshall v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 15-1215

Petitioner Christina Marshall filed a Vaccine Act petition alleging a right shoulder injury caused by an influenza vaccine given October 6, 2014. Judgment awarding compensation was entered July 8, 2016 based on respondent’s proffer.
After judgment, petitioner sought attorneys’ fees and costs: $20,391.60 in fees and $1,894.79 in costs (total $22,286.39); no out-of-pocket expenses were claimed.
Respondent stated she has no formal role in fee resolution under the Vaccine Act but agreed statutory requirements for an award were met and deferred to the special master to determine a reasonable amount.
The special master reviewed prior fee decisions and reduced petitioner’s requested hourly rates for lead counsel (from $295/$301 to $275 for both years), applying reductions consistent with recent decisions by the same special master.
Travel time (three hours) was billed; the special master awarded travel time at 50% of counsel’s hourly rate, not the full rate, reducing the requested fees further.
The final award granted $18,775.50 in attorneys’ fees and $1,894.79 in costs, totaling $20,670.29, payable jointly to petitioner and counsel.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether petitioner is entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs after judgment	Marshall sought full fees and costs as prevailing claimant	Respondent asserted she has no role in fee amount determination but agreed fees are allowable and deferred to the special master	Fees and costs are awardable; special master determines reasonable amount
Appropriate hourly rate for lead counsel for 2015–2016	Requested $295 (2015) and $301 (2016), supported by recent fee decisions	Respondent did not contest entitlement; special master relied on precedent to set reasonable rates	Reduced to $275/hour for both years based on prior decisions by the same special master
Rate for paralegals and other firm attorney time	Petitioner sought requested rates for paralegals and a .5-hour entry by another attorney	Respondent did not object	Paralegal rates and the .5-hour attorney entry awarded at requested rates
Compensation for travel time	Petitioner requested full counsel hourly rate for travel hours	Respondent did not object to award but left amount to discretion of special master	Travel time compensated at 50% of counsel’s hourly rate; resulted in further reduction

Gruber v. Secretary of Health & Human Services, 91 Fed. Cl. 773 (2010) (trial court guidance that travel-time awards should be assessed case-by-case; 50% rule is not automatic)
Beck v. Secretary of Health & Human Services, 924 F.2d 1029 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (attorney fee award is intended to cover all legal expenses; counsel may not collect more than awarded)