| Richlin Security Service Co. v. Chertoff | ||||||
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Supreme Court of the United States |
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| Argued March 19, 2008 Decided June 2, 2008 |
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| Full case name | Richlin Security Service Company, petitioner v Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security |
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| Docket nos. | 06-717 | |||||
| Citations | 553 U.S. ___ | |||||
| Argument | Oral argument | |||||
| Holding | ||||||
| A prevailing party that satisfies EAJA’s other requirements mayrecover its paralegal fees from the Government at prevailing market rates. 472 F. 3d 1370, reversed and remanded. | ||||||
| Court membership | ||||||
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| Case opinions | ||||||
| Majority | Alito, joined by Roberts, Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer | |||||
| Concurrence | Souter, joined by Scalia | |||||
| Concurrence | , joined by Thomas | |||||
| Laws applied | ||||||
| Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) (5 U.S.C. § 504; 28 U.S.C. § 2412) | ||||||
Richlin Security Service Co. v. Chertoff, 553 U.S. ___ (2008), was an appeal of a lower court ruling denying the prevailing party in an administrative action against a government agency the right to recover at market rates the paralegal fees paid as part of the action. The Supreme Court held that 5 U. S. C. §504(a)(1) authorized the recovery of paralegal fees at market rates, and therefore reversed the lower court's ruling.