J & J Sports Productions Incorporated v. Meza-Jimenez et al

Filing 23

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 22 Motion for Attorney Fees. Signed by Judge David G Campbell on 4/4/2018.(DGC, nvo)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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No. CV-17-1320-PHX-DGC
J & J Sports Productions, Inc.,
ORDER

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Plaintiff,

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v.

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Francisco J. Meza Jimenez, Nydia P.
Meza, and Taqueria Cajeme, LLC, d/b/a
Taqueria Cajeme,

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Defendants.

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Plaintiff J & J Sports Productions has filed a motion for an award of attorneys’

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fees and costs. Doc. 22. No response has been filed. The Court will grant the motion in

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part.

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Plaintiff obtains licenses to distribute pay-per-view programming to bars and

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restaurants. Plaintiff claims that on May 7, 2016, Defendants intercepted a pay-per-view

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boxing match and displayed it to the public at Taqueria Cajeme, a Mexican restaurant and

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bar operated by Defendants. Plaintiff brought this civil action seeking statutory damages

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for violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the Cable and Television

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Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, 47 U.S.C. §§ 553 and 605 et seq.

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Doc. 1.

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Defendants failed to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint. Docs. 10, 17.
Plaintiff was awarded default judgment in the amount of $30,000.00. Docs. 19, 21.

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Under the Communications Act, the Court “shall direct the recovery of full costs,

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including awarding reasonable attorneys’ fees to an aggrieved party who prevails.”

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47 U.S.C. § 605(e)(3)(B)(iii). Pursuant to Local Rule of Civil Procedure 54.2, a party

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seeking to recover attorneys’ fees must file a motion that includes a discussion of the

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eligibility and entitlement to fees and the reasonableness of the requested award.

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LRCiv 54.2(c). The supporting memorandum should include a consultation statement,

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the fee agreement, an itemized statement of fees, and an affidavit of moving counsel.

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LRCiv 54.2(d).

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With respect to costs, Local Rule 54.1 directs prevailing party to “include a

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memorandum of the costs and necessary disbursements, so itemized that the nature of

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each can be readily understood, and, where available, documentation of requested costs

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in all categories must be attached.” LRCiv 54.1(a).

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I.

Attorneys’ Fees.

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Plaintiff seeks a fee award in the amount of $4,460.00 for 19 billable hours.

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Docs. 22 at 3, 22-4 at 10. The request includes $885.00 in fees for the work of an

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administrative assistant.

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engaged in substantive legal work under a lawyer’s supervision, most of the work is

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secretarial in nature. Secretarial or clerical work is not properly included in an award of

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attorneys’ fees. See J & J Sports Prods., Inc. v. Mosqueda, CV-12-00523-PHX-DGC,

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2013 WL 5336848, at *3 (D. Ariz. Sept. 24, 2013) (citing Schrum v. Burlington N. Santa

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Fe Ry. Co., No. CIV 04-0619-RCB, 2008 WL 2278137, at *12 (D. Ariz. May 30, 2008)).

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The Court is particularly reluctant to award fees for all of this work, as many of the

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itemized time entries appear to be a lawyer’s review or duplication of the administrator’s

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tasks. The Court has noted this same issue in ruling on Plaintiff’s motions for attorneys’

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fees in other cases. See Mosqueda, 2013 WL 5336848, at *3; J & J Sports Prods, Inc. v.

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Macia, No. CV-13-00921-PHX-DGC, 2014 WL 3747608, at *1 (D. Ariz. July 30, 2014).

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The Court will reduce the requested fee award by the amount sought for time spent

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by the administrative assistant on secretarial tasks. The Court, in its discretion, will

Doc. 22-4 at 7-10.

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Although this individual occasionally

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award attorneys’ fees of $3,850.00.1

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II.

Costs.

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A prevailing party is entitled to “the recovery of full costs” under the

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Communications Act. 47 U.S.C. § 605(e)(3)(B)(iii). Plaintiff seeks an award of costs in

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the amount of $1,374.24 for filing fees, service of process fees, courier charges, and

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investigative costs. Docs. 22 at 3, 22-4 at 10-11.

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The statute has been interpreted as including investigative costs. See Kingvision

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Pay-Per-View Ltd. v. Autar, 426 F. Supp. 2d 59, 67 (E.D.N.Y. 2006). Although the

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Court has the power to direct the recovery of such costs, it is not required to do so. Id.

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(citing Int’l Cablevision, Inc. v. Noel, 982 F. Supp. 904, 918 (W.D.N.Y. 1997)). Rather,

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“[i]n order to recover investigative costs a plaintiff must make a showing similar to that

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required to recover attorneys’ fees,” and the movant “must document (1) the amount of

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time necessary for the investigation; (2) how much the investigators charged per hour;

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and (3) why the investigators are qualified to demand the requested rate.” Id. (internal

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citations and quotation marks omitted).

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Plaintiff has submitted a $650 invoice from the investigator, but provides no

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explanation or supporting documentation for the reasonableness of this charge.

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Doc. 22-4 at 15. Plaintiff fails to describe the investigator’s qualifications or identify her

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hourly rate. It is worth noting that the investigator spent only five minutes in Defendants’

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establishment on the night in question. Doc. 20-3 at 2. The Court will not award costs

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for these investigative services.

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Nor will the Court award costs for the $34.24 in courier charges. Doc. 22-4 at 10.
Plaintiff provides no supporting documentation for these charges.

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IT IS ORDERED:

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1.

Plaintiff’s motion for award of costs and attorneys’ fees (Doc. 22) is

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Counsel for Plaintiff avows that he does not have a fee agreement with Plaintiff.
Doc. 22-4 at 4. Counsel further states that a consultation statement is unavailable given
that no Defendant has appeared in this action. Id. at 5.
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granted in part and denied in part as set forth in this order.

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2.

Plaintiff is awarded $3,850.00 in attorneys’ fees.

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3.

Plaintiff is awarded $690.00 for costs.

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Dated this 4th day of April, 2018.

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