Blue Lake Rancheria, et al v. Morgenstern, et al.,

Filing 41

FEE AWARD signed by Judge John A. Mendez on 8/11/11 ORDERING that defendants are ordered to pay Plaintiffs $6,035.00 within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order. (Becknal, R)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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BLUE LAKE RANCHERIA, a
federally-recognized Indian
Tribe; BLUE LAKE RANCHERIA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION, a federallychartered tribal corporation;
and MAINSTAY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS,
a federally-authorized division
of Blue Lake Rancheria Economic
Development Corporation,
Plaintiffs,

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v.
MARTY MORGENSTERN, individually
and in his official capacity as
Secretary of the California
Labor and Workforce Development
Agency; PAM HARRIS, individually
and in her official capacity as
Chief Deputy Director of the
Employment Development
Department of the State of
California (“EDD”); JACK
BUDMARK, individually and in his
official capacity as a Deputy
Director of the Tax Brach of the
EDD; TALBOTT SMITH, individually
and in his official capacity as
a Deputy Director of the
Unemployment Branch of the EDD;
KATHY DUNNE, individually and in
her official capacity as a
Senior Tax Compliance

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Case No. 2:11-CV-1124 JAM-JFM
FEE AWARD

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Representative of the EDD; SARAH
REECE, individually and in her
capacity as an Authorized
Representative of the EDD; THE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA; THE
EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT, a department of the
State of California; and DOES 150, inclusive,
Defendants.

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On July 27, 2011 the Court issued an order (Doc. #38)

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permitting Plaintiffs Blue Lake Rancheria, Blue Lake Rancheria

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Economic Development Corporation and Mainstay Business Solutions

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(collectively “Plaintiffs”) to file a sur reply along with a

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declaration setting forth the attorneys fees and costs incurred in

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the preparation and filing of the sur reply.

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it would award reasonable attorneys fees to Plaintiffs as a

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sanction against Defendants Marty Morgenstern, Pam Harris, Jack

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Budmark, Talbott Smith, Kathy Dunne and Sarah Reece (collectively

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“Defendants”) for violating the Courts previous order regarding

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supplemental briefing.

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Injunction (Doc. #31) at 45:23-46:1.

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The Court stated that

See Transcript of Motion for Preliminary

Plaintiffs ask this Court for an award of fees in the amount

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of $19,952.50.

Having reviewed Plaintiffs’ Declaration (Doc. #39,

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attachment #1)setting forth the fees incurred in preparing the sur

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reply, the Court finds that $19,952.50 is not a reasonable fee

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award.

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to Plaintiffs.

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be unnecessary and/or duplicative, and reduced the hourly billing

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rate for Mr. Rubin.

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hours of work performed by Gregg Philipp and Lucia Kim at a blended

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billing rate of $232.50 per hour, 8 hours of work by David Rapport

The Court will award reasonable attorneys fees of $6,035.00
The Court eliminated fees for work that it found to

Specifically, the Court awarded fees for 10

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at $250.00 per hour and 3.8 hours of work performed by Robert Rubin

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at $450.00 per hour.

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ORDER

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Defendants are ordered to pay Plaintiffs $6,035.00 within

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thirty (30) days of the date of this Order.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

August 11, 2011

____________________________
JOHN A. MENDEZ,
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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