CopyCited 15 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jul 15, 1993 | 263 Ga. 301, 93 Fulton County D. Rep. 2534
...Rather, I would hold, as did the Court of Appeals, that the determinative factor for the opportunity of an award by a special master of attorney fees to a prevailing party is whether the party has obtained counsel appointed by the administrator of the Office of Fair Employment Practices (OFEP) pursuant to OCGA §
45-19-27 (3) or, whether the party has retained private counsel pursuant to OCGA §
45-19-37 (i)....
...ate representation in pursuing his or her claim before the special master, and may obtain the services of an attorney for that purpose in one of two ways: the complainant may utilize the services of the OFEP administrator, who, *305 pursuant to OCGA §
45-19-27 (3), will arrange legal representation; or the complainant may retain his or her own private counsel, OCGA §
45-19-37 (i)....
...to this Court by the General Assembly to construe FEPA broadly to further the purposes thereof. First, although Finney chose to have her attorney appointed by the administrator, the attorney clearly represents Finney and not the administrator. OCGA §
45-19-27 (3). Moreover, there is simply nothing in §§
45-19-27 *309 (3) or
45-19-37 (i) that states that a complainant who elects to be represented by an attorney appointed by the administrator may not thereafter seek attorney fees under §
45-19-38 (c)....
...Moreover, construing §
45-19-38 (d) to limit the superior court's authority to award attorney fees would place a further burden on the administrator's ability to hire attorneys to represent complainants. Attorneys hired by the administrator are only paid by the administrator through the special master proceedings. OCGA §
45-19-27 (3)....
...Or does it explode?" Today I wonder. For the foregoing reasons, I dissent. I am authorized to state that Justice Benham joins in this dissent. NOTES [1] By the term privately retained attorney, I mean an attorney not appointed by the FEPA administrator pursuant to OCGA §
45-19-27 (3)....
...) in connection with the Department of Corrections' appeal to the superior court of the special master's award. However, since Finney's attorney at the superior court level was not compensated under the contract with the OFEP administrator, see OCGA §
45-19-27 (3), unlike the proceedings before the special master, Finney would not be precluded from a fee award under the rationale of this special concurrence....