Sebelius v. Cloer, No. 12-236; U.S. Supreme Court; opinion by Sotomayor, J.; decided May 20, 2013. On certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit,
The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 established a no-fault compensation system to stabilize the vaccine market and expedite compensation to injured parties. Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC, 562 U.S. . Under the act, "[a] proceeding for compensation" is "initiated" by "service upon the Secretary" of the Department of Health and Human Services and "the filing of a petition containing" specified documentation with the clerk of the Court of Federal Claims, who then "immediately" forwards the petition for assignment to a special master. 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-11(a)(1). An attorney may not charge a fee for "services in connection with [such] a petition," § 300aa-15(e)(3), but a court may award attorney fees and costs "incurred [by a claimant] in any proceeding on" an unsuccessful "petition filed under section 300aa-11," if that petition "was brought in good faith and there was a reasonable basis for the claim for which the petition was brought," § 300aa-15(e)(1).
