McGuire v. City of Montgomery, et al

Filing 350

ORDERED that the 285 motion for attorney's fees is DENIED without prejudice and with leave to re-file no later than fourteen days after entry of the mandate by the Court of Appeals on the pending appeal. Further, 346 the motion to strike is DENIED as moot. Signed by Chief Judge William Keith Watkins on 8/27/2015. (kh, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
NORTHERN DIVISION
MICHAEL A. MCGUIRE,
Plaintiff,
v.
LUTHER STRANGE, et al.,
Defendants.

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) CASE NO. 2:11-CV-1027-WKW
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(WO)
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ORDER

Before the court is Plaintiff’s motion for attorney’s fees and nontaxable
costs. (Doc. # 285.) Also before the court is Plaintiff’s motion to strike Defendant
Strange’s objections to documents submitted in support of Plaintiff’s motion for
attorney’s fees. (Doc. # 346.)
This case is currently pending on appeal before the Eleventh Circuit.

The

filing of a notice of appeal does not deprive this court of jurisdiction to consider
the motion for attorney’s fees. Fed. R. Civ. P. 58(e) (“Ordinarily, the entry of
judgment may not be delayed, nor the time for appeal extended, in order to tax
costs or award fees.”); Gordon v. Heimann, 715 F.2d 531, 535 (11th Cir. 1983)
(“Because under the statute attorneys’ fees can only be awarded to prevailing
parties, attorneys’ fees under section 1988 will usually be sought only after
litigation.”).

However, the court has discretion to deny a motion for attorney’s fees
without prejudice with leave to re-file after the appeal has concluded. See Fed. R.
Civ. P. 54(d) advisory committee’s note (“If an appeal on the merits of the case is
taken, the court may rule on the claim for fees, may defer its ruling on the motion,
or may deny the motion without prejudice, directing . . . a new period for filing
after the appeal has been resolved.”); Tancredi v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 378 F.3d
220, 226 (2d Cir. 2004) (holding that a district court acted within its discretion by
denying an attorney’s fee motion without prejudice to renew the motion after
disposition of a pending appeal on the merits).
To efficiently manage this case, avoid piecemeal adjudication of issues
pertaining to attorney’s fees and costs, and conserve judicial resources, the court
determines that justice would be best served by denying the motion for attorney’s
fees without prejudice and with leave to re-file the motion after the conclusion of
the appeal.

Further, in light of the significant disputes between the parties

concerning matters that are wholly collateral to the merits of the pending appeal,
resolution of the motion for attorney’s fees at this time is unlikely to contribute to
more efficient resolution of the case before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Accordingly, the motion for attorney’s fees (Doc. # 285) is DENIED without
prejudice and with leave to re-file no later than fourteen days after entry of the
mandate by the Court of Appeals on the pending appeal.
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Further, the motion to strike (Doc. # 346) is DENIED as moot.
DONE this 27th day of August, 2015.
/s/ W. Keith Watkins
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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