DeMartini, et al. v. DeMartini, et al.

Filing 179

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney on 1/11/2017 ORDERING Plaintiffs are awarded $2,500.00 in attorneys' fees incurred in connection with the motion to compel amended initial disclosure. Plaintiffs are awarded $1,750.00 in attorneys' fees incurred in connection with the motion to compel production of electronically stored information. (Reader, L)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TIMOTHY DEMARTINI, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

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No. 2:14-cv-2722 JAM CKD PS

v.

ORDER

MICHAEL DEMARTINI, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Pending before the court are plaintiffs’ requests for expenses incurred in connection with a

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motion to compel amended initial disclosure (ECF No. 120) and motion to compel production of

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electronically stored documents (ECF No. 122). The parties have submitted supplemental

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briefing on these matters. Upon review of the documents submitted in support and opposition,

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upon review of the supplemental briefing, and good cause appearing therefor, THE COURT

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FINDS AS FOLLOWS:
The court has determined that reasonable expenses should be awarded in connection with

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both motions. However, the amount of time expended by plaintiffs’ attorneys is unreasonable.

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The court previously found an hourly rate of $250 was reasonable for attorney Kemos (ECF No.

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99), and no circumstances have been presented which would warrant a departure from that hourly

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rate.

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In connection with the motion to compel amended initial disclosure, plaintiffs seek $8,092

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for attorney Kemos for 24.9 hours at an hourly rate of $325 and $900 for attorney Rimmer for 3.6

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hours at an hourly rate of $250. The affidavits submitted in support of the claimed attorneys’ fees

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for the motion to compel amended initial disclosure (ECF Nos. 149, 150) do not set forth the

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dates on which the tasks were performed and it appears there was some duplication of tasks

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performed by the two plaintiffs’ attorneys. Moreover, the amount of time spent on some of the

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tasks appears to be greater than would be reasonably expended by an experienced attorney. It

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also appears that much of the time spent on this motion could have been avoided if there had been

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appropriate meet and conferring with defendants at an earlier stage of the litigation. The court

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therefore finds that a total of ten hours of attorney time was incurred in connection with the

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motion to compel amended initial disclosure.

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With respect to the motion to compel production of electronically stored information,

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plaintiffs seek $1,625 for attorney Kemos for 5 hours at an hourly rate of $325 and $3,000 for

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attorney Rimmer for “more than 15 hours” at an hourly rate of $250. ECF No. 136. Counsel has

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not provided an itemized list of tasks for these claimed hours. As with the prior motion, it

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appears there was duplication of effort and claiming over twenty hours for a straightforward

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motion is unreasonable. It also appears that again there was a failure to adequately meet and

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confer regarding the production of the electronically stored documents. The court finds seven

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hours were reasonably incurred in connection with this motion.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiffs are awarded $2,500 in attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with the motion

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to compel amended initial disclosure.
2. Plaintiffs are awarded $1,750 in attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with the motion

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to compel production of electronically stored information.

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Dated: January 11, 2017

_____________________________________
CAROLYN K. DELANEY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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