Stay of award decision

An automatic stay means the fee-application process is put on hold without any party having to ask for a pause. Under 2204.409 the regulation states that "Any proceedings on an application for fees under this part shall be automatically stayed until the adversary adjudication has become a final disposition." This means parties should not expect the Review Commission to proceed on fee motions while the underlying adversary adjudication remains pending; the stay takes effect by operation of the rule itself.

The stay applies to any party involved in a fee application under this part and to the Commission's handling of that application. The text of 2204.409 says that "Any proceedings on an application for fees under this part shall be automatically stayed," so all proceedings on such fee applications before the Review Commission are halted until the adversary adjudication reaches final disposition.

No action by a party is required to trigger the stay because the stay is automatic. The regulation expressly provides that "Any proceedings on an application for fees under this part shall be automatically stayed" (2204.409). Parties therefore should assume that fee proceedings will be held in abeyance without needing to request a stay.

The stay ends when the adversary adjudication becomes a final disposition. The regulation states that proceedings on fee applications "shall be automatically stayed until the adversary adjudication has become a final disposition" (2204.409). When the underlying adversary case reaches whatever constitutes a final disposition in that proceeding, the automatic stay no longer applies.

An "application for fees under this part" means any request for fees brought under Part 2204's procedures. The regulation on the stay applies broadly to "Any proceedings on an application for fees under this part" (2204.409), so fee requests that rely on the rules and standards in Part 2204 are subject to the automatic stay until the adversary adjudication is finally disposed.

No, the Commission may not proceed to decide fee-application proceedings while the automatic stay is in effect. The regulation plainly states that "Any proceedings on an application for fees under this part shall be automatically stayed until the adversary adjudication has become a final disposition" (2204.409). That stay prevents the Commission from moving forward on those proceedings until final disposition of the adversary adjudication.

The stay ends when the adversary adjudication reaches a final disposition; if a settlement produces a final disposition, the stay would end at that point. The regulation ties the end of the stay directly to when the adversary adjudication "has become a final disposition" (2204.409). Whether a particular settlement produces a final disposition depends on whether the settlement concludes the adjudication in a way recognized as final by the adjudicative forum.

No, parties cannot pursue proceedings on fee applications while the automatic stay is in effect. The regulation states that "Any proceedings on an application for fees under this part shall be automatically stayed until the adversary adjudication has become a final disposition" (2204.409), which includes interim or partial fee proceedings brought under Part 2204.

The automatic stay described in 2204.409 applies to "Any proceedings on an application for fees under this part," meaning it governs proceedings under Part 2204 before the Review Commission. For proceedings outside the scope of Part 2204 (such as actions in state court), this particular regulatory automatic stay does not by its terms apply. See 2204.409 for the textual scope of the stay.

Plan to bring any application for fees under Part 2204 after the adversary adjudication becomes final if you want the Commission to consider the application without an automatic hold; the rule provides that fee proceedings "shall be automatically stayed until the adversary adjudication has become a final disposition" (2204.409). If you file a fee application while the underlying case is still pending, expect the proceedings on that application to be held in abeyance until final disposition.

In practice, "adversary adjudication" refers to the underlying contested proceeding between opposing parties that is being decided through the Commission's adjudicative process. The stay in 2204.409 expressly pauses fee-application proceedings until that adversary adjudication becomes a final disposition, so the phrase denotes the underlying case whose final outcome controls when fee proceedings may resume.

The regulation provides an automatic stay rather than a separately issued stay order, and it does not establish a distinct appeal process for the automatic stay itself. 2204.409 simply states that fee proceedings "shall be automatically stayed until the adversary adjudication has become a final disposition," so parties should treat the stay as part of the procedural rule that pauses fee proceedings until final disposition.