Allora, LLC v. Cambridge Builders of Johnston

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 5:08-cv-00590-H Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999145306].. [12-2328]

Appeal: 12-2328

Doc: 25

Filed: 07/09/2013

Pg: 1 of 8

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 12-2328

ALLORA, LLC,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
and
DONALD A. GARDNER ARCHITECTS, INCORPORATED,
Plaintiff,
v.
CAMBRIDGE BUILDERS OF JOHNSTON COUNTY, INC.,
Defendant - Appellant,
and
BRYAN
GROVER
Denise
Estate

VANDERPOOL; TOMMY DEES; CAMBRIDGE BUILDERS, INC.;
THOMAS DEES, JR.; WILLIAM C. DEES, by and through
S. Dees and Grover T. Dees as Representatives of the
of William C. Dees,
Defendants.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh.
Malcolm J. Howard,
Senior District Judge. (5:08-cv-00590-H)

Submitted:

June 13, 2013

Decided:

Before WILKINSON, DUNCAN, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.

July 9, 2013

Appeal: 12-2328

Doc: 25

Filed: 07/09/2013

Pg: 2 of 8

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

W. Thad Adams, III, Lance A. Lawson SHUMAKER LOOP & KENDRICK,
LLP, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant. Mark W. Bakker,
Wallace K. Lightsey, WYCHE, P.A., Greenville, South Carolina,
for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

2

Appeal: 12-2328

Doc: 25

Filed: 07/09/2013

Pg: 3 of 8

PER CURIAM:
This appeal presents a challenge to an award of attorneys’
fees in a copyright infringement case.

For the reasons that

follow, we affirm the judgment.

I.
As relevant here, Allora, LLC, sued Cambridge Builders of
Johnston County, Inc. (“CBJC”), in the Eastern District of North
Carolina

for

infringement

of

a

copyrighted

home

design. 1

Following the grant of summary judgment in its favor on the
question of liability, Allora proceeded to trial against CBJC on
the sole issue of damages.

The jury returned a verdict awarding

Allora $99,565.00 -- the profits deemed attributable to CBJC’s
improper use of Allora’s architectural plan.
Allora then moved the district court for $308,269.57 in
attorneys’ fees and costs.
was

appropriate,

but

it

The court determined that an award
found

some

of

the

rates

and

hours

requested “to be a bit excessive under the circumstances of this
case,” arriving at an award of $209,027.62 -- $208,667.25 for

1

While another plaintiff, several defendants, and numerous
claims were involved in this litigation below, the only issue
before this court on appeal relates to the award of fees and
costs pertaining to the listed entities and claim.

3

Appeal: 12-2328

Doc: 25

Filed: 07/09/2013

Pg: 4 of 8

reasonable fees and $360.37 for certain costs. 2

CBJC appeals

only the fee component of the award.

II.
The Copyright Act provides as follows:
In any civil action under this title, the court in its
discretion may allow the recovery of full costs by or
against any party other than the United States or an
officer thereof. Except as otherwise provided by this
title,
the
court
may
also
award
a
reasonable
attorney’s fee to the prevailing party as part of the
costs.
17 U.S.C. § 505.

We review an award of attorneys’ fees under

the Copyright Act for an abuse of discretion.

Diamond Star

Bldg. Corp. v. Freed, 30 F.3d 503, 506 (4th Cir. 1994).

Factual

findings may be reversed only if they are clearly erroneous.
Id.
As an initial matter, we have no doubt that the district
court properly concluded that Allora constitutes a “prevailing
party” eligible to receive a fee award under the Copyright Act
in the first place.

The Supreme Court has defined “prevailing

party” in the fee-shifting context to mean a “party in whose
favor

a

judgment

damages awarded.”

is

rendered,

regardless

of

the

amount

of

Buckhannon Bd. & Care Home, Inc. v. W. Va.

2

The court later issued another order awarding Allora an
additional $3,295.14 in costs.

4

Appeal: 12-2328

Doc: 25

Filed: 07/09/2013

Pg: 5 of 8

Dep’t of Health & Human Res., 532 U.S. 598, 603 (2001) (internal
quotation marks omitted).

As the district court stated:

Allora defeated the defendants’ motion for summary
judgment and prevailed on its own motion for partial
summary judgment, the court finding no genuine issue
of material fact that Allora owned a valid copyright
in the [contested] design and that CBJC copied the
plan without Allora’s authorization.
At a jury trial
solely on the issue of damages, Allora once again
prevailed, obtaining an award of almost $100,000 in
actual damages and disgorged profits notwithstanding
CBJC’s evidence and arguments that it had not profited
from the infringement.
Allora plainly satisfies the definition of a prevailing party.
Next,

the

circuit’s

district

four-prong

court

standard

correctly

for

identified

determining

whether

this
fees

should be awarded to a prevailing party in a copyright case.
Specifically, a court ought to consider “(1) ‘the motivation of
the parties,’ (2) ‘the objective reasonableness of the legal and
factual

positions

circumstances
deterrence,’

advanced,’

to
and

advance
(4)

‘any

(3)

‘the

considerations
other

need
of

relevant

in

particular

compensation

factor

and

presented.’”

Diamond Star, 30 F.3d at 505-06 (quoting Rosciszewski v. Arete
Assocs., 1 F.3d 225, 234 (4th Cir. 1993)); see also Fogerty v.
Fantasy, Inc., 510 U.S. 517, 534 n.19 (1994).
Noting

that

it

had

“carefully

considered

all

relevant

factors,” the district court found Allora’s motivations “pure”
and

its

contrast,

legal
the

and

factual

court

positions

reasoned

that
5

“reasonably
CBJC’s

“utter

sound.”
failure

By
to

Appeal: 12-2328

Doc: 25

consider

Filed: 07/09/2013

settlement,

even

Pg: 6 of 8

after

the

court’s

summary

judgment

ruling,” shows that it “may not have been acting in good faith
in

continuing

number

of

to

CBJC’s

litigate.”

The

contentions

as

court

also

characterized

“questionable”

and,

a

finally,

noted the “egregious nature” of the underlying infringement.

We

have no reason to believe the district court’s characterization
was anything but sound.
Finally,

as

for

the

amount

of

a

fee

award

under

the

Copyright Act, the district court again cited and applied the
correct legal principles.

In particular, “[t]he most useful

starting point for determining the amount of a reasonable fee is
the

number

of

hours

reasonably

expended

on

the

litigation

multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate,” Hensley v. Eckerhart,
461 U.S. 424, 433-34 (1983) -- an approach to fee determination
known as the “lodestar” method.

Numerous considerations may

prove pertinent to arriving at a final figure, among them:
(1) the time and labor expended; (2) the novelty and
difficulty of the questions raised; (3) the skill
required to properly perform the legal services
rendered; (4) the attorney’s opportunity costs in
pressing the instant litigation; (5) the customary fee
for like work; (6) the attorney’s expectations at the
outset of the litigation; (7) the time limitations
imposed by the client or circumstances; (8) the amount
in controversy and the results obtained; (9) the
experience, reputation and ability of the attorney;
(10) the undesirability of the case within the legal
community in which the suit arose; (11) the nature and
length
of
the
professional
relationship
between
attorney and client; and (12) attorneys’ fees awards
in similar cases.
6

Appeal: 12-2328

Doc: 25

Filed: 07/09/2013

Pg: 7 of 8

Robinson v. Equifax Info. Servs., 560 F.3d 235, 243-44 (4th Cir.
2009).
The district court proceeded through the relevant factors
with care, delivering a fair assessment of how each weighed in
calculating the ultimate award.

For example, although the court

noted that “copyright law is a complex area,” it also stated
that “this particular case was not especially complex or novel
in light of the blatant nature of the infringement.”

Moreover,

the court did not blindly grant Allora’s motion seeking over
$300,000

in

fees

and

costs

but,

rather,

adjusted

the

award

downward -- to approximately $200,000 -- in order to render the
judgment “reasonable” with respect to both the expended hours
and the assigned rates.
In

conclusion,

the

district

court

applied

the

lodestar

method in a sound manner under the circumstances of this case,
and we accordingly find no abuse of discretion.

The trial judge

was familiar with both the pre-trial and trial proceedings and
was thus in the best position to determine a reasonable award
amount -- including with respect to CBJC’s primary arguments on
appeal, which relate to the degree of success obtained by Allora
and the adequacy of the evidence supporting the fee petition.

7

Appeal: 12-2328

Doc: 25

Filed: 07/09/2013

Pg: 8 of 8

III.
The

Supreme

Court

has

cautioned

that

a

“request

for

attorney’s fees should not result in a second major litigation.”
Hensley, 461 U.S. at 437.
to

make

this

district
reasonable

matter

court’s
award

Notwithstanding appellant’s attempt

exactly

that,

we

careful

assessment

in

case.

this

The

find
of

no

what

judgment

error

in

constitutes
is

the
a

therefore

affirmed.
AFFIRMED

8