Carpenters Pension Trust Fund for Northern California et al v. Lindquist

Filing 60

ORDER by Judge Samuel Conti granting 50 Motion for Attorney Fees (sclc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/29/2011) (Additional attachment(s) added on 9/29/2011: # 1 proof of service) (tdm, COURT STAFF).

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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CARPENTERS PENSION TRUST FUND FOR
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, et al.

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Plaintiffs,

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v.
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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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MARK ALAN LINDQUIST,

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Defendant.

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) Case No. 10-3386 SC
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) ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS'
) MOTION FOR ATTORNEY'S FEES
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I.

INTRODUCTION
Before the court is a Motion for Attorney's Fees filed by

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Plaintiffs Board of Trustees of the Carpenters Pension Trust

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Fund for Northern California, et al. ("Plaintiffs"), against

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Defendant Mark Alan Lindquist ("Defendant").

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("Mot.").

ECF No. 50

Defendant did not file an Opposition.

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II.

BACKGROUND
This action arises from Plaintiffs' efforts to recover

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withdrawal liability from Defendant under the Employee

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Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA").

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Court granted summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs.

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Court held that, pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 1451(b), Plaintiffs

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were entitled to $954,508.00 in unpaid principal withdrawal

On July 19, 2011, the
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liability, $95,450.80 in liquidated damages, applicable interest

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in an amount to be determined, and attorney's fees and costs.

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Id. at 17.

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motion for attorneys' fees and costs.

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Plaintiffs filed the instant Motion requesting attorney's fees

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in the amount of $51,825.00 and costs in the amount of $515.58.

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Mot. at 2.

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summary judgment against him.

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The Court granted Plaintiffs thirty days to file a
Id.

On August 11, 2011,

On August 12, 2011, Defendant appealed the grant of
ECF No. 52 ("Not. of Appeal.").

For the following reasons, the Court finds these amounts to

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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be reasonable and GRANTS Plaintiffs' Motion.

The Court STAYS

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this Order until Defendant's appeal is resolved.

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III. LEGAL STANDARD
Under ERISA, the award of reasonable attorney's fees and

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costs to a pension plan is mandatory in all actions to collect

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unpaid employer withdrawal liabilities.

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Board of Trustees, W. Conf. Teamsters Pension Trust Fund, 777

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F.2d 1371, 1373-75 (9th Cir. 1985).

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attorney's fees in such an action, district courts utilize a

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two-step "hybrid lodestar/multiplier" approach.

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Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 480 F.3d 942, 945 (9th Cir. 2007).

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First, the court establishes a lodestar by multiplying the

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number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation by a

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reasonable hourly rate.

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rate, the court should consider "the experience, skill, and

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reputation of the attorney requesting fees."

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party seeking fees bears the burden of documenting the hours

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expended in the litigation and must submit evidence supporting

Id.

Lads Trucking Co. v.

To calculate reasonable

Welch v.

In determining a reasonable hourly

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Id. at 946.

The

those hours and the rates claimed.

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exceptional cases," the district court may adjust the lodestar

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upward or downward using a multiplier based on facts not

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Second, in "rare and

subsumed in the initial lodestar calculation.

Id.

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IV.

DISCUSSION

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Plaintiffs' counsel have submitted detailed billing records

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demonstrating that they spent 222.8 hours litigating the instant

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case.

ECF Nos. 50-1 ("McDonough Decl."), 50-2 ("Billing

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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Records").

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attending case management conferences, conferring with

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Defendant, propounding requests for admissions and requests for

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production of documents, taking Defendant's deposition,

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preparing the motion for summary judgment, and preparing the

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instant Motion.

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Plaintiffs have provided an itemized accounting of the number of

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hours spent on each task.

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have been reasonably expended on this litigation.

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These hours comprise time spent preparing pleadings,

McDonough Decl. ¶ 8; Billing Records.

Id.

The Court finds the hours to

Plaintiffs' counsel charged an hourly rate of between $225

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and $275 for attorney time and $115 for paralegal time.

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McDonough Decl. ¶¶ 4, 9.

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charged for this litigation are consistent with prevailing

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market rates for litigation involving union-sponsored benefit

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funds.

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plan's attorney regarding the prevailing fees in the community.

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United Steelworkers v. Retirement Income Plan for Hourly-Rated

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Employees of Asarco, Inc., 512 F.3d 555, 565 (9th Cir. 2008).

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The rates charged are also in accord with rates approved in

Id. ¶ 6.

Counsel attest that the hourly fees

A court can rely on the declaration of the

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comparable cases in this district.

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of the Boilermaker Vacation Trust v. Skelly, Inc., 389 F.Supp.2d

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1222, 1227-1228 (N.D. Cal. 2005) (finding attorney rates of $210

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per hour and $345 per hour to be reasonable in an ERISA action

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seeking payment of delinquent contributions).

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Court finds Plaintiffs' counsel's hourly rates to be reasonable.

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The Court finds no rare or exceptional circumstances that

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warrant adjusting the fee award in this case upward or downward.

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Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiffs are entitled to

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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See, e.g., Bd. of Trustees

Therefore, the

recover a lodestar amount of $51,825.00.

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Plaintiffs have also submitted billing records showing that

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they incurred $515.58 in costs of delivering pleadings and other

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documents to this Court.

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Records.

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costs as part of their reasonable attorney's fees.

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the Construction Industry and Laborers Health and Welfare Trust

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v. Redland Ins. Co., 460 F.3d 1253, 1257 (9th Cir. 2006).

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Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiffs are entitled to

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recover a total sum of $52,340.58.

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McDonough Decl. at ¶ 12; Billing

Plaintiffs are entitled to recover these delivery

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Trustees of

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V.

CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS the Motion for

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Attorney's Fees filed by Plaintiffs Board of Trustees of the

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Carpenters Pension Trust Fund for Northern California, et al.

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against Defendant Mark Alan Lindquist in the amount of

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$52,340.58.

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rules on Defendant's appeal and returns the case to this Court's

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jurisdiction.

This Order is hereby STAYED until the Ninth Circuit

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: September 29, 2011
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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