(a) For the purposes of this section:

(1) “Person” means a person as defined in section 4-166, but excludes (A) an individual with a net worth in excess of five hundred thousand dollars, (B) a business whose gross revenues for the most recently completed fiscal year exceeded one million five hundred thousand dollars, (C) a business with more than twenty-five employees and (D) an agency as defined in section 4-166.

(2) “Reasonable fees and expenses” means any expenses not in excess of seven thousand five hundred dollars which the court finds were reasonably incurred in opposing the agency action, including court costs, expenses incurred in administrative proceedings, attorney's fees, witness fees of all necessary witnesses, and such other expenses as were reasonably incurred.

(b) In any appeal by an aggrieved person of an agency decision taken in accordance with section 4-183 and in any appeal of the final judgment of the Superior Court under said section taken in accordance with section 51-197b, the court may, in its discretion, award to the prevailing party, other than the agency, reasonable fees and expenses in addition to other costs if such prevailing party files a request for an award of reasonable fees and expenses within thirty days of the issuance of the court's decision and the court determines that the action of the agency was undertaken without any substantial justification.

(P.A. 83-284; P.A. 88-317, S. 26, 107; P.A. 97-88.)

History: P.A. 88-317 added Subsec. (a)(1)(D), excluding an agency from definition of “person”, effective July 1, 1989, and applicable to all agency proceedings commencing on or after that date; P.A. 97-88 amended Subsec. (b) to require a prevailing party seeking an award of reasonable fees and expenses to file a request therefor within 30 days of the issuance of the court's decision.

Cited. 204 C. 17; Id., 672; 214 C. 505; 216 C. 85; 237 C. 28.

Cited. 18 CA 13; 30 CA 720; 38 CA 506; 43 CA 39; 45 CA 543.

Subsec. (b):

Cited. 240 C. 141. Agency action must be entirely unreasonable or without any reasonable basis in law or fact. 249 C. 693. Department of Social Services' actions were not entirely unreasonable where department made a good faith interpretation of the legislative mandate to minimize financial risk to Medicaid program. 258 C. 642.

Cited. 26 CA 326; 41 CA 866. Agency's action must be entirely unreasonable or without any reasonable basis in law or fact to prevail. 51 CA 96. Trial court abused discretion in not awarding attorneys' fees under section because agency had no fewer than three opportunities to take appropriate action and thus there was no substantial justification for its failure to act. 75 CA 142.