Oskowis v. Sedona Oak-Creek Unified School District #9

Filing 107

ORDER granting 104 The District's motion to voluntarily dismiss its counterclaims. The Districts motion for attorneys' fees (Doc. 83 ) is denied without prejudice. The Clerk of Court shall enter judgment accordingly. Signed by Judge Dominic W Lanza on 6/21/19. (EJA)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Matthew Oskowis,
Plaintiff,

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ORDER

v.

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No. CV-17-08070-PCT-DWL

Sedona Oak-Creek Unified School District
#9,

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Defendant.

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Defendant Sedona Oak-Creek Unified School District #9 (“the District”) has filed a

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motion under Rule 41(a)(2) to voluntarily dismiss its counterclaims. (Doc. 104.) In

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response, Plaintiff Matthew Oskowis (“Oskowis”) states that he “will consent to the

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dismissal of the District’s counterclaims, if the District’s counterclaims are dismissed with

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prejudice.” (Doc. 105 at 2.) In its reply, the District “does not object to dismissal of its

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counterclaims with prejudice” but asserts its desire “to preserve its right to continue to seek

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attorney’s fees . . . under its pending motion for attorney’s fees under Rule 54(d)(2)(B).”

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(Doc. 106 at 1.)

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This makes things easy. The Court will grant the District’s motion and dismiss its

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counterclaims with prejudice. This means there are no claims or counterclaims remaining

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in the case, so judgment may be entered.

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The Court further notes that the District has already filed a motion for attorneys’

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fees (Doc. 83) and the Court previously stated this fee motion would become “ripe for

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adjudication” following entry of judgment (Doc. 101 at 7). However, the District stated in

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its most recent motion that “[u]pon entry of final judgment, [it] intends to amend its

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pending motion for attorney’s fees to remove the fees incurred in connection with its

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decision to plead its request for fees as counterclaims.” (Doc. 104 at 1-2.) Given this

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clarification, the pending motion for attorneys’ fees (Doc. 83) will be denied without

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prejudice. Within 14 days of entry of judgment, the District may file a new motion. See

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(d)(2)(B)(i).

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Finally, that motion shall be accompanied by an electronic Microsoft Excel

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spreadsheet, to be emailed to the Court and opposing counsel, containing an itemized

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statement of legal services with all information required by Local Rule 54.2(e)(1). This

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spreadsheet shall be organized with rows and columns and shall automatically total the

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amount of fees requested to enable the Court to efficiently review and recompute, if needed,

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the total amount of any award after disallowing any individual billing entries. This

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spreadsheet does not relieve the moving party of its burden under Local Rule 54.2(d) to

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attach all necessary supporting documentation to its motion. A party opposing a motion

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for attorneys’ fees shall email to the Court and opposing counsel a copy of the moving

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party’s spreadsheet, adding any objections to each contested billing entry (next to each

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row, in an additional column) to enable the Court to efficiently review the objections. This

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spreadsheet does not relieve the non-moving party of the requirements of Local Rule

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54.2(f) concerning its responsive memorandum.

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Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that:

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(1)

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The District’s motion to voluntarily dismiss its counterclaims (Doc. 104) is

granted;
(2)

The District’s motion for attorneys’ fees (Doc. 83) is denied without

prejudice; and

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(3)

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Dated this 21st day of June, 2019.

The Clerk of Court shall enter judgment accordingly.

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