Joint Statement on the BATFE Litigation Legal Fee Recovery Motion

March 27, 2010

On Friday March 26, Judge Reggie Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on the TRA/NAR motion for recovery of the legal fees we incurred in our successful nine-year case against BATFE regulation of APCP.  The judge rejected the government’s argument that we were not entitled to any reimbursement for our attorneys fees.  However, he ruled that we will only be reimbursed based on the artificially low hourly legal rates established for use in federal court cases, and only for legal work performed after the Court of Appeals remanded the case back to Judge Walton in 2006, including legal work on the fee recovery motion itself.   

The amount will likely be less than half of the $196K that we had requested (the amount we requested if the court would not grant recovery at an enhanced fee rate), but will still be substantial.  The exact amount corresponding to the judge's decision has not yet been calculated.  This re-calculation will need to be re-submitted to the judge by April 16, and for payment at some date yet to be established after an April 30 BATFE response to our submission.

 

Ken Good

President

Tripoli Rocketry Association

Trip Barber

President 

National Association of Rocketry