Section 14-3825. ATTORNEY’S FEES - COMMISSION

 

3825.1The Rent Administrator or the Rental Housing Commission may award attorney’s fees incurred in the administrative adjudication of a petition in accordance with § 902 of the Act.

 

3825.2A presumption of entitlement to an award of attorney’s fees is created by a prevailing tenant, who is represented by an attorney.

 

3825.3A prevailing housing provider represented by an attorney may be awarded attorney’s fees where the Rent Administrator or the Commission finds that the litigation of the tenant was frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.

 

3825.4The Commission or the Rent Administrator may deny an award of attorney’s fees to either a housing provider or a tenant, if it is determined the equities indicate.

 

3825.5Attorney’s fees are awarded only for the services of attorneys, and their law clerks, paralegals, or law students, who worked on the petition under the supervision of an attorney, who entered an appearance in the case, except that no award is allowable for the services of a pro se attorney who is a party to the proceedings.

 

3825.6Attorney’s fees shall be paid only for services performed after the filing of the petition and after the party notified the Rent Administrator or the Commission that the party is represented by an attorney, except that fees are allowable for a reasonable period of time prior to the notification of representation for any services performed in reaching a determination to represent the party. Written filings to the Commission signed by the attorney shall be deemed to constitute notice of representation.

 

3825.7An award of attorney’s fees by the Rent Administrator or the Commission shall be based on an affidavit executed by the attorney of record itemizing the attorney’s time for legal services and providing the applicable information listed in § 3825.8. The affidavit shall be made part of the agency’s official file.

 

3825.8The award of attorney’s fees shall be calculated in accordance with the existing case law using the following standards:

 

(a)The starting point shall be the lodestar, which is the number of hours reasonably expended on a task multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate.

 

(b)The lodestar amount may be reduced or increased after considering the following factors:

 

(1)the time and labor required;

 

(2)the novelty, complexity, and difficulty of the legal issues or questions;

 

(3)the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly;

 

(4)the preclusion of other employment by the attorney, due to acceptance of the case;

 

(5)the customary fee or prevailing rate in the community for attorneys with similar experience;

 

(6)whether the fee is fixed or contingent;

 

(7)time limitations imposed by the client or the circumstances;

 

(8)the amount involved and the results obtained;

 

(9)the experience, reputation, and ability of the attorney;

 

(10)the undesirability of the case;

 

(11)the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client;

 

(12)the award in similar cases; and

 

(13)the results obtained, when the moving party did not prevail on all the issues.

 

3825.9An attorney is any person admitted to practice law before any court in the District of Columbia or any state of the United States or any territory of the United States.

 

3825.10No attorney’s fees award shall be granted for evictions pursuant to § 501 of the Act.

 

3825.11An award of attorney’s fees accrues interest from the date of the award and the interest is calculated in accordance with § 3826.

 

3825.12Motions for an award of attorney’s fees must be submitted within ten (10) days after the final decision or order from the Rent Administrator or the Commission.

 

source

Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 45 DCR 684-86 (February 6, 1998).