This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

P is a fifteen-year-old boy with Down Syndrome. From 2009 to 2013, P attended Normal Park Elementary School, a public school operating under the Hamilton County Department of Education (D). In May 2013, P's parents rejected the individualized education program (IEP), which had been developed by HCDE, instead deciding to enroll him at The Montessori School of Chattanooga (TMS) for the 2013-2014 school year, P's third grade in school. P has remained at TMS through the eighth grade. P's parents filed a complaint under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which requires states that receive federal funds to provide a 'free and appropriate education' (a FAPE) to every disabled child. P also brought claims under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (Section 504). In December 2015, the Court approved a settlement agreement between P and the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE). TDOE paid the sum of $65,000.00 into a special needs trust for the benefit of P, $75,000.00 to reimburse P’s parents, D.H. and G.H., for expert and attorneys' fees, and $45,000.00 to Gilbert, Russell, McWherter, Scott & Bobitt, PLC, for attorneys' fees incurred to that date. D was the only remaining Defendant. The Court determined that placement in accord with D's 2013 IEP was more restrictive than necessary-and therefore improper. The Court also determined that P's alternative private placement at TMS did not satisfy the IDEA, so P's parents were not entitled to reimbursement. Both parties appealed. The court of appeals affirmed but also found that the educational program at TMS satisfied the IDEA and that P's parents were therefore entitled to reimbursement. The appellate court observed that P's claims under the ADA and Section 504 were 'redundant' and therefore pretermitted those claims. P moved the court for attorney's fees and costs pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54, requesting attorney's fees of $378,831.25, plus costs of $6,703.75, for a total of $385,535.00.

The legal issues presented in this case will be displayed here.

The applicable rule of law for this case will be displayed here.

The court's holding and decision will be displayed here.

Legal analysis from Dean's Law Dictionary will be displayed here.