This protest concerned the amount of attorney fees that should be granted to the Taxpayer as the result of the court of appeals granting the Taxpayer’s motion for fees and remanding to the Hearing Officer for hearing to determine the amount of the fees based on their reasonableness and necessity. The Hearing Officer used a method to determine that amount. Considerations included whether the time of two attorneys when they had worked for the taxpayer at the same time should be paid separately and whether the rates charged by the attorneys were excessive and unreasonable in comparison to the provided average rates typically charged in New Mexico for similar work. Using certain criteria, the Hearing Officer arrived at the time and two different rates for the attorneys and ordered the amount paid to the Taxpayer.
