The Center for Discovery is a not-for-profit corporation that provides residential and educational services to people with developmental disabilities.  It initially sought to remove a child from its program on the ground that the child had behavioral issues that the Center for Discovery could not address and filed an action in the United States District court for the Eastern District of New York to remove the child.  Eventually, the Center for Discovery was able to develop a program of special services to keep the child at its school and sought to dismiss its own action.  Nonetheless, the parents of the child refused to consent to the dismissal of the action without the payment of attorneys fees by the Center for Discovery to them.

On the Center for Discovery’s motion, the Court dismissed the action without awarding attorneys fees to the parents.  The Court held that since the Center for Discovery was dismissing the action with prejudice, no attorneys fees were appropriate for the parents and that, in any event, the parents were not “prevailing parties” that could qualify for attorneys fees under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The Center For Discovery, Inc. v. D.P., his parents V.P. and C.P., U.S. Dist LEXIS 55450 (E.D.N.Y. 2018)