Title 16
SECTION 1025.71
1025.71 Information required from applicant.
§ 1025.71 Information required from applicant.(a) Contents of application. (1) An application for an award of fees and expenses under the EAJA shall identify the applicant and the proceeding for which an award is sought. The application shall show that the applicant has prevailed and identify the position of complaint counsel in the adjudicative proceeding that the applicant alleges was not substantially justified. Unless the applicant is an individual, the application shall also state the number of employees of the applicant and describe briefly the type and purpose of its organization or business.
(2) The application shall also include a verified statement that the applicant's net worth does not exceed $1 million (if an individual) or $5 million (for all other applicants, including their affiliates). However, an applicant may omit this statement if it attaches a copy of a ruling by the Internal Revenue Service that it qualifies as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or, in the case of a tax-exempt organization not required to obtain a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service on its exempt status, a statement that describes the basis for the applicant's belief that it qualifies under such section.
(3) The application shall state the amount of fees and expenses for which an award is sought.
(4) The application may also include any other matters that the applicant wishes the Commission to consider in determining whether and in what amount an award should be made.
(5) The application shall be signed by the applicant or an authorized officer or attorney of the applicant. It shall also contain or be accompanied by a written verification under oath or under penalty of perjury that the information provided in the application is true and correct.
(b) Net worth exhibit; confidential treatment. (1) Each applicant except a qualified tax-exempt organization or cooperative association must provide with its application a detailed exhibit showing the net worth of the applicant and any affiliates (as defined in § 1025.70(d)(6) of this subpart) when the proceeding was initiated. The exhibit may be in any form convenient to the applicant that provides full disclosure of the applicant's and its affiliates' assets and liabilities and is sufficient to determine whether the applicant qualifies under the standards in this subpart. The presiding officer may require an applicant to file additional information to determine its eligibility for an award.
(2) Ordinarily, the net worth exhibit will be included in the public record of the proceeding. However, an applicant that objects to public disclosure of information in any portion of the exhibit or to public disclosure of any other information submitted, and believes there are legal grounds for withholding it from disclosure, may move to have that information kept confidential and excluded from public disclosure in accordance with § 1025.45 of the Commission rules for in camera materials, 16 CFR 1025.45. This motion shall describe the information sought to be withheld and explain, in detail, why it falls within one or more of the specific exemptions from mandatory disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(1)-(9).
(3) Section 6(a)(2) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. 2055(a)(2), provides that certain information which contains or relates to a trade secret or other matter referred to in section 1905 of title 18, United States Code, or subject to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) shall not be disclosed. This prohibition is an Exemption 3 statute under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(3). Material submitted as part of an application for which in camera treatment is granted shall be available to other parties only in accordance with 16 CFR 1025.45(c) of the Commission Rules and, if applicable, section 6(a)(2) of the CPSA. If the presiding officer determines that the information should not be withheld from disclosure because it does not fall within section 6(a)(2) of the CPSA, he shall place the information in the public record but only after notifying the submitter of the information in writing of the intention to disclose such document at a date not less than 10 days after the date of receipt of notification. Otherwise, any request to inspect or copy the exhibit shall be disposed of in accordance with the Commission's established procedures under the Freedom of Information Act (see 16 CFR part 1015).
(c) Documentation of fees and expenses. The application shall be accompanied by full documentation of the fees and expenses, including the cost of any study, analysis, engineering report, test, project or similar matter, for which an award is sought. A separate itemized statement shall be submitted for each professional firm or individual whose services are covered by the application, showing the hours spent in connection with the proceeding by each individual, a description of the specific services performed, the rate at which each fee has been computed, any expenses for which reimbursement is sought, the total amount claimed, and the total amount paid or payable by the applicant or by any other person or entity for the services provided. The presiding officer may require the applicant to provide vouchers, receipts; or other substantiation for any expenses claimed.
(d) When an application may be filed. (1) An application may be filed whenever the applicant has prevailed in a proceeding covered by this subpart or in a significant and discrete substantive portion of the proceeding. However, an application must be filed no later than 30 days after the Commission's final disposition of such a proceeding.
(2) If review or reconsideration is sought or taken of a decision as to which an applicant believes it has prevailed, proceedings for the award of fees shall be stayed pending final disposition of the underlying controversy.
(3) If review or reconsideration is sought or taken of a decision as to which an applicant believes it has prevailed, proceedings for the award of fees shall be stayed pending final disposition of the underlying controversy.
(4) For purposes of this subpart, final disposition means the later of:
(i) The date on which an initial decision by the presiding officer becomes final, see 16 CFR 1025.52;
(ii) The date on which the Commission issues a final decision (See 16 CFR 1025.55);
(iii) The date on which the Commission issues an order disposing of any petitions for reconsideration of the Commission's final order in the proceeding (See 16 CFR 1025.56; or
(iv) Issuance of a final order or any other final resolution of a proceeding, such as a settlement or voluntary dismissal, which is not subject to a petition for reconsideration.
(e) Where an application must be filed. The application for award and expenses must be submitted to the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207 in accordance with the application requirements of this section.