Loumiet v. Office of Comptroller of the Currency

Petitioner appealed a final decision and order of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (Comptroller) requiring him to bear the costs of his own defense in an underlying administrative proceeding in which he prevailed. In the underlying lawsuit, petitioner and his law firm were retained by Hamilton Bank (Bank) to conduct an independent investigation of fraud at the Bank and the Comptroller's Enforcement and Compliance Division subsequently alleged that petitioner had breached his fiduciary duties to the Bank. The court held that the Comptroller was not "substantially justified" in bringing the underlying administrative proceeding against petitioner and therefore, petitioner was entitled to attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 5 U.S.C. 504. Accordingly, the court remanded for the Comptroller to calculate the amount of those fees.