VICP Registry Case Source Bundle Canonical URL: https://vicp-registry.org/case/USCOURTS-cofc-1_08-vv-00743 Package ID: USCOURTS-cofc-1_08-vv-00743 Petitioner: Richard Williams-O'Banion Filed: 2008-10-20 Decided: 2016-02-05 Vaccine: influenza Vaccination date: 2005-10-28 Condition: neurological injuries Outcome: dismissed Award amount USD: AI-assisted case summary: Richard Williams-O'Banion filed a petition on October 20, 2008, alleging that an influenza vaccine he received on October 28, 2005 had caused him to suffer neurological injuries. He was initially represented by attorney Ronald C. Homer. Mr. Homer filed a motion to withdraw on July 31, 2009, which was granted on September 7, 2010, and Mr. Williams-O'Banion proceeded pro se through the remainder of the case. The special master issued a decision dismissing the petition on July 25, 2014, finding insufficient proof of causation. Judgment was entered on August 29, 2014. The staging text for the decision document consists of page headers only — no readable content was extracted from the dismissal decision. On January 5, 2015, Mr. Homer filed a motion for leave to seek attorneys' fees and costs for the work he had performed prior to his withdrawal. Mr. Williams-O'Banion had refused to permit Mr. Homer to become attorney of record for purposes of filing the fees application. Respondent opposed the motion, arguing that former counsel lacked standing and that there was no reasonable basis for the petition. On October 29, 2015, Special Master Hamilton-Fieldman ruled that Mr. Homer had standing to file for fees and granted the motion for leave. Petitioner was given an opportunity through December 16, 2015 to submit a request for reimbursement of any out-of-pocket litigation costs he personally incurred during the period he was represented by Mr. Homer; he did not respond. The parties stipulated on November 19, 2015 to an award of $12,000.00 in attorneys' fees and costs for Mr. Homer. Special Master Hamilton-Fieldman issued the fees decision on January 12, 2016, finding that the petition had been filed in good faith and that there was a reasonable basis for the claim, and awarding $12,000.00 payable jointly to Mr. Williams-O'Banion and Mr. Homer at Conway Homer & Chin-Caplan, P.C. Theory of causation field: Flu vaccine Oct 28, 2005 → neurological injuries (alleged). SM dismissed July 25, 2014 (insufficient proof of causation). Judgment Aug 29, 2014. Petitioner pro se after Homer withdrew. Former counsel fees: Homer filed for leave; SM Hamilton-Fieldman Jan 12, 2016: $12,000 fees awarded (good faith; reasonable basis). Petitioner filed no request for personal costs. Dates correct. Public staged source text: ================================================================================ DOCUMENT 1: USCOURTS-cofc-1_08-vv-00743-0 Date issued/filed: 2014-08-15 Pages: 11 Docket text: PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 07/25/2014) regarding 76 DECISION of Special Master Signed by Special Master Lisa Hamilton-Fieldman. (dlb) Copy to parties. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 77 Filed 08/15/14 Page 1 of 11 Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 77 Filed 08/15/14 Page 2 of 11 Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 77 Filed 08/15/14 Page 3 of 11 Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 77 Filed 08/15/14 Page 4 of 11 Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 77 Filed 08/15/14 Page 5 of 11 Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 77 Filed 08/15/14 Page 6 of 11 Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 77 Filed 08/15/14 Page 7 of 11 Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 77 Filed 08/15/14 Page 8 of 11 Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 77 Filed 08/15/14 Page 9 of 11 Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 77 Filed 08/15/14 Page 10 of 11 Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 77 Filed 08/15/14 Page 11 of 11 ================================================================================ DOCUMENT 2: USCOURTS-cofc-1_08-vv-00743-1 Date issued/filed: 2016-02-05 Pages: 3 Docket text: PUBLIC DECISION (Originally filed: 1/12/2016) regarding 85 DECISION of Special Master. Signed by Special Master Lisa Hamilton-Fieldman. (jb) Copy to parties. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 86 Filed 02/05/16 Page 1 of 3 ORIGINAL 3n tlje Winitth States? Court of Jfeberal Claim* OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS No. 08-743V r- . . r- p. Filed: January 12, 2016 l~ I L t U **************** UNPUBLISHED JAN 11 2016 RICHARD WILLIAMS-O'BANION, * 0SM Special Master Hamilton-^ftjSgffiOF, Petitioner, * Former Attorneys' Fees and Costs; * Reasonable Amount Requested to * which Respondent Does Not Object. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Respondent. * **************** Richard Williams-O'Banion, Pro se. Lara A. Englund, United States Department ofJustice, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. DECISION1 On October 20, 2008, Richard Williams-O'Banion ("Petitioner") filed a petition pursuant totheNational Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.2 Petitioner alleged that aninfluenza ("flu") vaccine administered on October 28, 2005, caused him to suffer from neurological injuries. Petition, dated October 17,2008, at 1. Petitioner was represented bycounsel, Mr. Ronald C. Homer, when he initially filed his petition. Seegenerally Petition. Mr.HomerrepresentedPetitionerforseveralmonths,beforehe filed a Motion to Withdraw on July 31, 2009. Motion, dated July 31, 2009. The Motion was 1Because this decision contains a reasoned explanation for the undersigned's action inthis case, the undersigned intends to post this decision on the website ofthe United States Court ofFederal Claims, in accordance with the E-Government Act of2002, Pub. L. No. 107-347, §205, 116 Stat. 2899, 2913 (codified as amended at 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note (2006)). As provided by Vaccine Rule 18(b),each party has 14days within which to request redaction "ofany information furnished by that party: (1) that is a trade secret or commercial or financial in substance and is privileged or confidential; or (2) that includes medical files or similar files, the disclosure ofwhich would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion ofprivacy." Vaccine Rule 18(b). 2TheProgram comprises Part2oftheNational Childhood Vaccine Injury Actof 1986, 42 U.S.C. §§300aa-10et seq.(hereinafterVaccineActortheAct). Hereafter,individualsection references will be to 42 U.S.C. § 300aa ofthe Act. Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 86 Filed 02/05/16 Page 2 of 3 granted onSeptember 7,2010. Order, dated September 7,2010. Petitioner didnotretain another attorney andproceeded Prosethroughout theremaining durationofhiscase. OnJuly25,2014, theundersigned issued adecision dismissing thiscaseforinsufficient proofofcausation. Decision, datedJuly25,2014. Judgment onthedismissal decision was entered onAugust29,2014. Judgment, datedAugust29,2014. OnJanuary 5,2015,Mr. Homer fileda Motionfor Leaveto filean application forAttorneys' Feesand Costs ("Motion for Leave"). Motion,datedJanuary5,2015. TheMotionfor Leavewasnecessarybecause, according toMr. Homer, Petitioner refused toallowMr. Homer to"becometheattorney of record"forthepurpose offiling amotionforattorneys' feesandcosts. MotionforLeave, at3. OnJanuary 26,2015,Respondent filedherResponse toPetitioner's Motion forLeave ("Respondent's Response"), arguing thatMr. Homer didnothave standing tofile hismotion for attorneys'fees andcosts,andthattherewasnoreasonable basisforfilingthepetition. Respondent's Response,at2-3. Finally,onFebruary18,2015,Mr.HomerfiledhisReplyto Respondent's Response("FormerCounsel's Reply"). OnOctober29,2015,the undersigned issued an Order, in which she determined that Petitioner's former counsel has standing to file for attorneys' feesandcosts,andshegranted hisMotion forLeave. Order,datedOctober29,2015. On November 23, 2015, in compliance with General Order #9, the undersigned granted Petitioner"an opportunityto requestreimbursementforanydocumentedclaim-relatedcostshe personally incurred duringtheperiodhewasrepresented byMr.Homer." Order,dated November23,2015. The undersigned statedthat "[a]ny requests for costs submitted after [Wednesday, December16,2015]willnotbeconsideredforreimbursement." Id. Todate,the Court has received no correspondence from Petitioner and no requests for reimbursement. Afterthe undersigned grantedPetitioner's former counsel's Motion for Leave, Respondent fileda Stipulationof FactsConcerningAttorneys' FeesandCosts,in which Petitioner's former counsel and Respondent agree to the amount offees and costs to beawarded to Mr.Homer. Stipulation,datedNovember 19,2015. Pursuantto theirStipulation,Petitioner's formercounselandRespondenthaveagreedto anawardof $12,000.00inattorneys' feesand costs. As noted above, Petitioner was given additional time to request reimbursement for out-of- pocketlitigationcostsin pursuitofhisclaim;however,hedidnotsubmita requestfor reimbursement. The undersigned findsthat this petition wasbroughtin good faithand that there existed a reasonable basis for the claim. Therefore, an award for fees and costs is appropriate, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-15(b) and (e)(1). Further, the proposed amount seems reasonable and appropriate. Accordingly, the undersigned hereby awards the amount of$12,000.00, in the form ofacheck made payable jointly to Petitioner and Petitioner's former counsel, Ronald C. Homer, at Conway Homer & Chin-Caplan, P.C, 16Shawmut Street, Boston, MA 02116. The Clerk ofCourt is instructed to provide a copy ofthis Decision to Mr. Ronald Homer, 16 Shawmut Street, Boston, MA 02116. Case 1:08-vv-00743-UNJ Document 86 Filed 02/05/16 Page 3 of 3 Intheabsenceofamotionforreviewfiledpursuantto RCFCAppendixB,theclerkof the court SHALL ENTER JUDGMENT in accordance with the terms ofthe parties' stipulation.3 IT IS SO ORDERED. Lisa Hamilton-Fieldman Special Master 3Pursuantto VaccineRule 11(a),entryofjudgment isexpedited bythe parties' joint filingof notice renouncing the right to seek review.