Thursday, February 27, 2003

Paralegal and Law Clerk Fees Are Not Recoverable Under Section 440 of the Act

The Commonwealth Court case of Vitac Corporation v. W.C.A.B. (Rozanc) addressed the scope of Section 440 costs. These include only costs for attorney's fees, witnesses, necessary medical examination and the value of unreimbursed time to attend the proceedings. The Court indicated the maxim of expressio unius est exclusio alterius provides that attorney's fees are the only reimbursable cost from the attorney's office. In other words, an attorney will not be permitted to unbundle costs for law clerks, paralegals, online legal research, travel expenses [except as as allowed under 34 Pa. Code Section 131.67(a)], mailing expense, faxes, copies, and telephone expense.

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