Pyers v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 16-421

Meredith Pyers filed a Vaccine Act petition alleging left shoulder pain from a flu vaccine administered on November 23, 2014.
On August 3, 2016, Chief Special Master Dorsey awarded compensation to Pyers based on respondent’s proffer.
On August 16, 2016, Pyers moved for attorneys’ fees and costs totaling $14,739.96 (fees $14,049.50; costs $690.46) and stated petitioner paid no out-of-pocket expenses.
Respondent filed a response acknowledging she had no formal role in fee resolution but agreed statutory requirements were met and suggested a reasonable award between $12,000 and $13,000.
Petitioner filed a reply and requested an additional $275 for one hour preparing the reply; the special master found this request reasonable.
The special master reviewed billing records, found the overall request reasonable, awarded fees and costs, and ordered payment jointly to petitioner and counsel.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether statutory requirements for an award of attorneys’ fees and costs are met	Pyers: statutory entitlement to reasonable fees and costs after compensation was awarded	HHS: agrees requirements are met; notes respondent has no formal role in fee determination	Granted — statutory requirements met and fees/costs award appropriate
Whether the requested fees and hours are reasonable	Pyers: submitted billing records and prior awards showing reasonableness; sought $14,049.50 in fees	HHS: did not identify specific billing deficiencies but suggested a generally lower range ($12,000–$13,000) based on similar cases	Granted — special master reviewed records and found no cause to reduce hours or rates
Role of respondent in fee resolution	Pyers: proceeded with fee application for court resolution	HHS: asserted Vaccine Act and Rule 13 do not contemplate a role for respondent in fee resolution but offered views on reasonableness	Court treated respondent’s comments as nonbinding; proceeded to independently assess reasonableness
Fee for time preparing reply	Pyers: requested an additional $275 for one hour drafting the reply	HHS: did not object to specific addition	Granted — special master found the additional hour reasonable and awarded $275

Beck v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 924 F.2d 1029 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (attorney may not charge or collect fees in addition to amount awarded under § 15(e))