Sec. 404. Award of litigation costs to prevailing parties in accordance with existing law
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/bill/119/hr/1897/rh/section-404·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 11(g)(4) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1540(g)(4) ) is amended to read as follows: The court, in issuing any final order in any suit brought pursuant to paragraph (1), may award costs of litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) to an eligible party, whenever the court determines such award is appropriate. In awarding reasonable attorney and expert witness fees under subparagraph
(A)in a suit brought pursuant to paragraph (1), the court— shall base such fees on the prevailing market rates for the kind and quality of services furnished; and may not award— such fees at a rate that exceeds $125 per hour unless the court determines a higher rate is justified because of cost of living or a special factor, such as the limited availability of qualified attorneys for such suit; or more than $200,000 total in such fees in a single such suit. In this paragraph, the term eligible party — means a party to a suit brought pursuant to paragraph
(1)that is, as of the date on which the suit was initiated— an individual who has a net worth of not more than $2,000,000; an owner of an unincorporated business or a partnership, corporation, association, unit of local government, or organization, including an organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code, that has— a net worth of not more than $7,000,000, including both personal and business interests; and not more than 500 employees; or a cooperative association (as that term is defined in section 15(a) of the Agriculture Marketing Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1141j(a) )); and does not include a party to a suit brought pursuant to paragraph
(1)otherwise described in clause
(i)of this subparagraph that has sought to recover attorney or expert witness fees under this subsection in 3 or more instances in the 12-month period preceding the date on which the final order in such suit is issued, including in such suit. Where 2 or more parties to a suit brought pursuant to paragraph
(1)are co-plaintiffs and each such party individually is an eligible party, clause (i)(I) shall be applied to such parties collectively. .
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Sec. 404
Award of litigation costs to prevailing parties in accordance with existing law
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