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UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR
THE
DISTRICT
OF CONNECTICUT
Mrs. D., on
her own behalf
and as mother of John D.,
Plaintiff,
V.
CIVIL ACTION NO.
March
15, 1996
George Apuzzi,
Superintendent of Stafford Public
Schools
THE STAFFORD
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Defendants.
COMPLAINT
I. Preliminary
Statement
1. This action
is brought by Mrs. D. and seeks reasonable attorneys' fees pursuant
to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, (IDEA) 20 U.S.C.
§1401 et seq..
II. Jurisdiction
2. This Court has
jurisdiction pursuant to 20 U.S.C. §1415(e)(4).
III. Parties
3. Plaintiff Mrs.
D. is the mother of a child with disabilities, John D, who resided
with Mrs. D. in Stafford, Connecticut during the time of the action
giving rise to this Complaint.
4. Defendant George
Apuzzi is the superintendent of the Stafford Board of Education.
5. Defendant Stafford
Board of Education is established by the laws of the State of Connecticut
with the responsibility of providing education, including special
education, to disabled children residing in Stafford. The Stafford
Board of Education receives federal funds from the United States
Department of Education pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA).
IV. Factual
Allegations
6. On May 12, 1995
Mrs. D. requested a special education hearing from the State of
Connecticut to resolve disputed issues between herself and the Stafford
Board of Education, concerning the provision of special education
to John D. (Attachment A).
7. Attorneys Garrett
Tuller and Anne Louise Blanchard, attorneys with Connecticut Legal
Services, Inc. (CLS) represented Mrs. D. at the hearing. CLS is
a non-profit law firm providing legal representation to individuals
unable to pay for legal representation privately.
8. Mrs. D's hearing
request stated that the defendant Board had failed to provide a
free appropriate public education to her son John pursuant to C.G.S.
10-76d, the IDEA, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
9. In her hearing
request, Mrs. D. also stated that the defendants had:
a. failed to
evaluate John for special education identification,
b. failed to
identify John as a special education student,
c. inappropriately
removed school credit after John's health disability caused numerous
absences,
d. requested
an order that defendants provide John with reimbursement for psychological
services and to provide compensatory education.
10. On June 12,
1995 State of Connecticut Hearing Officer Susan A. Carlson convened
a special education due process hearing to address the issues in
dispute.
11. The hearing
reconvened two additional times, on October 18, 1995 and January
9, 1996.
12. Additionally,
the hearing officer convened two telephone conference calls on September
7, 1995 and October 27, 1995 as well as an additional telephone
conference on the record, on December 14, 1995.
13. The hearing
convened for the final time on January 9, 1996.
14. At the January
9th, 1996 due process hearing, Attorney Blanchard successfully negotiated
a stipulation favoring Mrs. D., which was entered into the record
at the hearing. (See Attachment B).
15. In that stipulation,
the defendant Board agreed to all of Mrs. D's requests set out in
the May 12, 1995 hearing request. 16. Specifically, the defendant
Board agreed to:
a. identify John
as an other health impaired student, entitled to a free appropriate
public education under the IDEA and to accommodations under Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Connecticut Agency
Regulations.
b. provide written
documentation of John's current credit status.
c. reimburse
Mrs. D. for the $700.00 spent on psychological counseling with
Dr. H. for John during the 1994-1995 school year.
d. continue to
provide tutorial to John as compensatory education through the
1995-1996 school year.
17. Additionally,
in the stipulation the Board agreed to develop an academic and counseling
Individual Education Program for John, provide counseling for him,
reimburse Mrs. D. for education related expenses, and provide and
fund the independent evaluations completed during the hearing.
18. The parties
also agreed that nothing in the stipulated agreement should be construed
as a waiver of the parent's right to seek attorney's fees.
19. On January
17, 1996 pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act and on behalf of Mrs. D., Connecticut Legal Services requested
payment of attorney's fees and costs totalling $13,008.75 from the
Stafford Board of Education. The request included detailed contemporaneous
time records explaining the time Mrs. D.'s attorneys spent representing
her. (Attachment B).
20. This figure
included sixty-two hours and forty-five minutes (62.45) expended
by Attorney Blanchard at $145.00 hour, and approximately thirty-nine
hours at $125.00 per hour for the time expended by Attorney Tuller,
with travel time billed at fifty percent of the regular hourly rate.
21. The figure
also included twenty-five dollars and seventy-five cents ($25.75)
expended in costs associated with the hearing.
22. On February
15, 1996 Hearing Officer Carlson issued her Final Decision and Order,
adopting Sections 1-15 of the Stipulated Agreement as her Final
Decision and Order, excluding paragraphs 12 and 15, over which she
had no jurisdiction. (Attachment C).
23. On March 5,
1996 Mrs. D., through counsel, again requested attorneys' fees from
the Stafford Board of Education. (Attachment D).
24. To date, the
Board has not made any offer in response to the parent's request
for fees.
V. Cause Of
Action
25. Paragraphs
one through twenty-four are incorporated by reference as if fully
set forth herein.
26. Plaintiff,
as the prevailing party under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, is entitled to an award of attorneys' fees and costs
for legal representation by Connecticut Legal Services.
WHEREFORE,
plaintiff prays for the following relief:
1. That this Court
take jurisdiction of this matter.
2. That, pursuant
to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, this Court award
plaintiff reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of $13,008.75, in
addition to attorney's fees and costs for the representation provided
in this action.
3. Any additional
relief this Court deems appropriate.
Respectfully submitted,
Anne Louise Blanchard
CONNECTICUT LEGAL SERVICES, INC.
P.O. Box 258
872 Main Street
Willimantic, CT 06226
Federal Bar No.
#XXXXXX Tel. (860) 456-1762
Attorney for Plaintiffs
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