Parrish et al v. National Football League Players Incorporated

Filing 637

ORDER RE ATTORNEY'S FEES AND COSTS. Signed by Judge Alsup on September 2, 2009. (whalc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/2/2009)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 HERBERT ANTHONY ADDERLEY, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION, a Virginia corporation, and NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS INCORPORATED d/b/a PLAYERS INC., a Virginia corporation. Defendants. / ORDER RE ATTORNEY'S FEES AND COSTS IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

United States District Court

11
For the Northern District of California

No. C 07-00943 WHA

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In order to allow class members an opportunity to evaluate any application for

attorney's fees and expenses, plaintiffs' counsel must file the application by SEPTEMBER 24, 2009. 2. No later than SEPTEMBER 24, 2009, plaintiff's attorneys must file and serve a

detailed declaration, organized by discrete projects, breaking down all attorney and paralegal time sought to be recovered. For each project, there must be a detailed description of the work, giving the date, hours expended, attorney name, and task for each work entry, in chronological order. A "project" means a deposition, a motion, a witness interview, and so forth. It does not mean generalized statements like "trial preparation" or "attended trial." It includes discrete items like "prepare supplemental trial brief on issue X." The following is an example of time collected by a project.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 01-08-01 01-09-01 01-10-01 01-11-01 01-12-01 Date Timekeeper XYZ RST XYZ RST RST

PROJECT: ABC DEPOSITION (2 DAYS IN FRESNO) Description Hours x Rate = Fee

Assemble and photocopy exhibits for use in deposition. Review evidence and prepare to examine ABC at deposition. Research issue of work-product privilege asserted by deponent. Prepare for and take deposition. Prepare for and take deposition.

2.0 4.5 1.5 8.5 7.0 23.5

$100 $200 $100 $200 $200

$200 $900 $150 $1700 $1400 $4350

Project Total: 3.

United States District Court

11
For the Northern District of California

All entries for a given project must be presented chronologically one after the

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other, i.e., uninterrupted by other projects, so that the timeline for each project can be readily grasped. Entries can be rounded to the nearest quarter-hour and should be net of write-down for inefficiency or other cause. Please show the sub-totals for hours and fees per project, as in the example above, and show grand totals for all projects combined at the end. Include only entries for which compensation is sought, i.e., after application of "billing judgment." For each project, the declaration must further state, in percentage terms, the proportion of the project directed at issues for which fees are awardable and must justify the percentage. This percentage should then be applied against the project total to isolate the recoverable portion (a step not shown in the example above). 4. A separate summary chart of total time and fees sought per individual

timekeeper (not broken down by project) should also be shown at the end of the declaration. This cross-tabulation will help illuminate all timekeepers' respective workloads and roles in the overall case. 5. The declaration must also set forth (a) the qualifications, experience and role of

each attorney or paralegal for whom fees are sought; (b) the normal rate ordinarily charged for each in the relevant time period; (c) how the rates were comparable to prevailing rates in the community for like-skilled professionals; and (d) proof that "billing judgment" was exercised. 2

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On the latter point, as before, the declaration should describe adjustments made to eliminate duplication, excess, associate-turnover expense, and so forth. These adjustments need not be itemized but totals for the amount deleted per timekeeper should be stated. The declaration must identify the records used to compile the entries and, specifically, state whether and the extent to which the records were contemporaneous versus retroactively prepared. It must state the extent to which any entries include estimates (and what any estimates were based on). Estimates and/or use of retroactively-made records may or may not be allowed, depending on the facts and circumstances. 6. Ordinarily, no more than one attorney and one paralegal need be present at a

deposition; more will normally be deemed excessive. Ordinarily, no more than one attorney need attend a law-and-motion hearing; more will normally be deemed excessive. To allow for symmetry, however, the award will take into account the staffing used by the opposing party. 7. Because multiple law firms represented the class, it is important to understand

United States District Court

11
For the Northern District of California

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whether more than one law firm worked on any given project. For example, if two law firms attended a single deposition for plaintiffs, then the Court needs a way to recognize that multiple firms billed time to the same project without having to mix-and-match the fee applications for each firm. Consequently, counsel shall please indicate for each discrete project whether the other law firm billed time to the same project. It will be sufficient to say at the end of the time entry for the given project that co-counsel also billed X hours to the same project. As stated at the hearing on preliminary approval, the Court has had concerns over the large number of lawyers present at trial every day. The Court assumes that some of this was for training purposes, which is fine, but should not be charged to the class. 8. Costs will be determined in strict compliance with the local rules. If a review is

sought regarding taxable costs, then the issue may also be referred to a special master (or may not). IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: September 2, 2009.

WILLIAM ALSUP UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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