civil-law civil-procedure us-federal-government federal-courts currency
In a Civil Case Complaint, does &quot;Demand $&quot; in Civil Cover Sheet (JS44) also apply to refund of legal fees through EAJA (Equal Access to Justice Act)
<p>In a Civil Case Complaint against the US Federal Government, it is possible for the plaintiff in certain circumstances to get a refund of his attorney fees and other expenses.</p>
<p>As explained on a <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/08/08/2019-16768/revised-model-rules-for-implementation-of-the-equal-access-to-justice-act" rel="nofollow noreferrer">government site</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), first enacted in 1980,
authorizes the award of attorney fees and other expenses to eligible
parties who prevail against the Federal government in judicial
proceedings and certain adversarial agency adjudicative proceedings,
where the position of the government is not substantially justified.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In a Civil Cover Sheet (JS44) that accompanies Civil Case Complaints, there is usually a field called &quot;Demand $&quot; in which the plaintiff should specify if the complaint demands
any amount of money as part of the requested relief.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ssAKA.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/ssAKA.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Question: Is this field also intended for specifying a requested refund of legal fees (based on the EAJA), in case that the plaintiff will be a prevailing party?</strong></p>
<p>Pay attention that the question refers to the <strong>initial complaint</strong> and its corresponding cover sheet which are being filed (as opposed to a potential subsequent separate complaint, specifically for the purpose of requesting an EAJA refund). Therefore at the time of filing, it is not yet known if the plaintiff will be a prevailing party. However it is possible to specify even in the initial complaint itself that part of the requested relief is a refund of legal fees according to the EAJA. So the question is if the &quot;Demand $&quot; field in the cover sheet for the <strong>initial complaint</strong> is intended also to specify this type of monetary compensation.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Is this field also intended for specifying a requested
refund of legal fees (based on the EAJA), in case that the plaintiff
will be a prevailing party?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>No.</p>
