2026-08-05T23:21:21.004Z / 路透社
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8月5日（路透社）—— 一名法官周三下令美国政府承担某大学协会的法律费用，此前该团体赢得法院裁决，阻止唐纳德·特朗普政府限制部分与国防研究相关的报销费用。
美国波士顿联邦地区法官布莱恩·墨菲根据1980年联邦法律，判给美国大学协会逾45万美元律师费。该法律允许部分民事诉讼中的诉讼方从政府处追回法律成本。
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2025年5月，美国国防部宣布将高校可获得的受资助研究“间接成本”报销比例上限设为15%，此类间接成本包括设施、设备以及服务于多个项目的研究人员相关开支。包括美国大学协会在内的12所大学和3个学术行业团体随即起诉美国国防部。美国大学协会及其他原告方认为这项新政策非法。
墨菲法官于2025年6月发布临时禁制令，叫停该报销上限，并于12月作出有利于美国大学协会及其他原告的判决。美国方面提起上诉，但随后撤回了上诉。
墨菲法官周三裁定，美国大学协会的律师费诉求合理，因为国防部的政策“并非实质上有充分依据”。他表示，国防部在法律论证中援引美国国立卫生研究院和美国能源部宣布的类似费率上限作为自身政策的依据，却无视这些费率上限也被其他法官叫停的事实。
“把头埋进沙子里的鸵鸟显然是不合理的，”墨菲写道。
墨菲法官驳回了美国司法部的论点——美国大学协会的成员是哈佛大学、耶鲁大学这类拥有巨额捐赠基金的研究型大学，因此无权获得律师费。他查明，美国大学协会自筹资金提起诉讼，花费超过200万美元。不过墨菲法官认为美国大学协会最初提出的53万美元律师费请求“略微过高”，因此下调了赔偿金额。
美国大学协会和国防部的发言人拒绝置评。美国大学协会的两名律师——克莱门特与墨菲律师事务所的保罗·克莱门特以及珍纳&布洛克律师事务所的林赛·哈里森，未立即回应置评请求。美国司法部也未立即回应。
此次律师费判决依据的是《平等获取司法法》，该法律允许民事诉讼中的个人和小型组织在赢得最终判决，且政府立场并非“实质上有充分依据”时，从联邦政府处追回有限额度的律师费。
该大学协会是在针对特朗普政府政策的民事诉讼中获胜后，依据《平等获取司法法》申请律师费的多方当事人之一。
戴维·托马斯报道
戴维·托马斯负责报道法律行业动态，包括律所战略、招聘、并购和诉讼。他驻芝加哥，可通过邮箱d.thomas@thomsonreuters.com以及推特账号@DaveThomas5150联系到他。
US must pay university group’s legal fees in case over Pentagon research funds
2026-08-05T23:21:21.004Z / Reuters
The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, is seen from the air on March 3, 2022, REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Aug 5 (Reuters) – A judge on Wednesday ordered the U.S. government to cover a university association’s legal fees after the group won a court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from capping some reimbursements related to defense research.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston awarded more than $450,000 in attorney fees to the Association of American Universities under a 1980 federal law that allows litigants to recover their legal costs from the government in some civil cases.
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Twelve universities and three academic trade groups, including the AAU, sued the U.S. Department of Defense in May 2025 after the department said it would cap at 15% the rate at which universities can be reimbursed for “indirect costs” of funded research, such as costs for facilities, equipment and research staff serving multiple projects. The AAU and the other plaintiffs argued that the new policy was unlawful.
Murphy issued a temporary restraining order blocking the reimbursement cap in June 2025 and entered judgment for the AAU and other plaintiffs in December. The U.S. appealed but then dropped it.
Murphy ruled on Wednesday the AAU’s fee award was warranted because the Defense Department’s policy was not “substantially justified.” The department in its legal arguments pointed to similar rate caps that were announced by the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Energy as a basis for its own policy but ignored that those rate caps were also blocked by other judges, Murphy said.
“The ostrich burying his head in the sand is manifestly unreasonable,” Murphy wrote.
Murphy rejected the U.S. Justice Department’s argument that the AAU did not qualify for fees because its members are research universities like Harvard and Yale that have large endowments. He found that the AAU independently funded the lawsuit, spending over $2 million. Murphy did find that the AAU’s initial fee request of $530,000 was “slightly excessive” and reduced the award.
Spokespersons for the AAU and the Defense Department declined to comment. Two of the AAU’s lawyers, Paul Clement of Clement & Murphy and Lindsay Harrison of Jenner & Block, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Justice Department also did not immediately respond.
The legal fees were awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act, which allows individuals and small organizations in civil actions to recover a limited amount of fees from the federal government if they win a final judgment and the government’s position was not “substantially justified.”
The university association is one of several parties that have sought fees under the EAJA after winning civil cases against the Trump administration over its policies.
Reporting by David Thomas
David Thomas reports on the business of law, including law firm strategy, hiring, mergers and litigation. He is based out of Chicago. He can be reached at d.thomas@thomsonreuters.com and on Twitter @DaveThomas5150.
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