J & J Sports Productions Incorporated v. Gonzalez Arvizu et al
Filing
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ORDER granting in part and denying in part 18 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-17-03130-PHX-DGC
J & J Sports Productions, Inc.,
ORDER
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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Francisca Angelica Gonzalez Arvizu,
individually and d/b/a/ Taco Mich; and
Taco Mich & Bar #4, LLC, an unknown
business entity d/b/a Taco Mich
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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. 18. 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 September 17, 2016, Defendants intercepted a pay-
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per-view boxing match and displayed it to the public at Taco Mich, a Mexican restaurant
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and bar operated by Defendants. Plaintiff brought this civil action seeking statutory
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damages 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.
Defendants failed to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint. Docs. 12.
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Plaintiff was awarded default judgment in the amount of $30,000.00. Docs. 17.
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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 $3,130 for 14.5 billable hours.
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Docs. 18 at 3, 18-4 at 10. The request includes $805.00 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).
Doc. 18-4 at 7-10.
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Although this individual occasionally
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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
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award attorneys’ fees of $2,900.00.1
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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 $1,330.71 for filing fees, service of process fees, courier charges, and
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investigative costs. Docs. 18 at 3, 18-4 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
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no explanation or supporting documentation for the reasonableness of this charge.
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Doc. 18-4 at 15. Plaintiff fails to describe the investigator’s qualifications or identify her
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hourly rate.
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Defendants’ establishment on the night in question. Doc. 16-4 at 2. The Court will not
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award costs for these investigative services.
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It is worth noting that the investigator spent less than a half hour in
Nor will the Court award costs for the $151.71 in courier charges. Doc. 18-4
at 10-11. Plaintiff provides no supporting documentation for these charges.
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Counsel for Plaintiff avows that he does not have a fee agreement with Plaintiff.
Doc. 18-4 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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IT IS ORDERED:
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Plaintiff’s motion for award of costs and attorneys’ fees (Doc. 18) is
granted in part and denied in part as set forth in this order.
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Plaintiff is awarded $2,900.00 in attorneys’ fees.
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Plaintiff is awarded $529.00 for costs.
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Dated this 4th day of April, 2018.
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