Group that won court fight over COVID vaccine records presses FDA for legal fees

Pfizer

Mon 14:52

Plaintiffs won release of 1.8 million FDA vaccine records
FDA chided for early decades-long timeline to respond
Judge asked to award enhanced fees
By Mike Scarcella

    WASHINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) - A group of public health professionals, scientists and others that sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to obtain COVID-19 vaccine approval records has asked a federal judge to order the government to pay more than $867,000 in legal fees and costs.
Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency, represented by law firm Siri & Glimstad, on Friday in a court filing urged a federal judge in Texas to award fees after nearly five years of litigation and the disclosure of more than 1.8 million records.
The group sued the FDA in 2021 seeking information the agency relied on to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. Pfizer was not a defendant but participated in the litigation to protect sensitive business information.
After the lawsuit was filed, the FDA said it would take decades to process the records, drawing a rebuke from U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, Texas, and an order requiring a much faster timeline. 
Pittman last year in a ruling against the FDA said “the COVID-19 pandemic is long passed and so has any legitimate reason for concealing from the American people the information relied upon by the government in approving the Pfizer vaccine."
The FDA and attorney Aaron Siri, who represents the Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The agency’s compliance with the court’s orders showed “that its initial protestations lacked a reasonable basis,” the plaintiffs said in their filing for legal fees. “This is unsurprising, given the federal government is one of the most powerful and well-funded entities on the planet.”
The plaintiffs’ filing showed nearly 1,500 hours of legal work. Some of the top billers in the litigation recorded hourly rates of between $1,020 to $1,230. The group said the number of hours “was the direct and unavoidable consequence of FDA’s litigation conduct.”
The lawyers said Pittman should consider granting an “enhancement” to the request based on the novelty and complexity of the litigation and the overall success. They did not specify the amount of any increase but said they have been allowed in exceptional circumstances.
A significant portion of the requested fees will be paid to an unidentified outside litigation funder, the plaintiffs told the court. Such funders provide financing in exchange for a share of a case’s proceeds.
In addition to fees, the group asked Pittman to issue a written finding that FDA’s conduct raises questions about whether individual employees acted arbitrarily, a determination that could trigger a federal disciplinary investigation.
     
The case is Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, No. 4:21-cv-01058-P.
For plaintiff: Aaron Siri and Elizabeth Brehm of Siri & Glimstad
For defendant: Andrew Freidah of the U.S. Justice Department
     
Read more:

    FDA must disclose more COVID-19 vaccine records, US judge rules
  

    FDA asks Texas court to shut down COVID-19 vaccine records lawsuit
  

    ‘Paramount importance’: Judge orders FDA to hasten release of Pfizer vaccine docs
  

    Wait what? FDA wants 55 years to process FOIA request over vaccine data
  

(Reporting by Mike Scarcella)