Kum Tat Limited v. Linden Ox Pasture, LLC

Filing 95

ORDER GRANTING NON-OPPOSED 92 MOTION FOR ADDITIONAL ATTORNEY'S FEES by Judge William H. Orrick. Linden Ox is entitled to recover the $37,584.00 in additional attorneys fees. (jmdS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/6/2017)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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KUM TAT LIMITED,
Plaintiff,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 3:14-cv-02857-WHO

v.
LINDEN OX PASTURE, LLC,
Defendant.

ORDER GRANTING NON-OPPOSED
MOTION FOR ADDITIONAL
ATTORNEY'S FEES
Re: Dkt. No. 92

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On September 5, 2017, I entered judgment, Dkt. No. 89, following an order granting

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Linden Ox’s non-opposed motion for summary judgment, Dkt. No. 88. The Order identified

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Linden Ox as the prevailing party, noted its entitlement to recover attorney’s fees in the amount of

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$513,821.00 (through April, 2017), and indicated that it could apply for an award of additional

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attorney’s fees incurred after April, 2017 and before entry of judgment, pursuant to Federal Rule

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of Civil Procedure 54(d)(2)(B). Order ¶¶ 4–5. The present motion seeks an additional award of

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attorney’s fees in the amount of $37,584.00. Dkt. No. 92. Kum Tat filed a statement of non-

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opposition. Dkt. No. 94. I find this matter appropriate for resolution without oral argument and

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VACATE the October 25, 2017 hearing. Civ. L. R. 7-1(b).

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Linden Ox is entitled to recover attorney’s fees under California Civil Code section 1717.

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Cal. Civ. Code § 1717; see also Hsu v. Abbara, 9 Cal. 4th 863, 866 (Cal. 1995)(holding

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“mutuality of remedy” dictates that a defendant is the “prevailing party” under section 1717 when

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the defendant proves that no contract was formed).

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Courts calculate a reasonable award based on the lodestar method. Gates v.

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Deukmejian, 987 F.2d 1392, 1398 (9th Cir. 1992). Jeffrey L. Fillerup submitted a declaration in

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support of Linden Ox’s Motion for Additional Attorney’s Fees indicating that he spent 69.9 hours

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on this case between May and August 2017. Fillerup Decl. ¶ 3 (Dkt. No. 92-1). At his rate of

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$540/hour, he billed Linden Ox $37,584.00 in attorney’s fees for this period.1 Id. ¶¶ 3–4.
“The determination of a reasonable hourly rate ‘involves examining the prevailing market

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rates in the community charged for similar services by lawyers of reasonably comparable skill,

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experience, and reputation.’” Dropbox, Inc. v. Thru Inc., No. 15-CV-01741-EMC, 2017 WL

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914273, at *4 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 8, 2017). “The ‘relevant community’ for the purposes of

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determining the reasonable hourly rate is the district in which the lawsuit proceeds.” Id.
Fillerup has over 30 years of experience, see Fillerup Decl. ¶ 1, which puts his rate within

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the realm of reasonable when compared to experienced attorneys in this district. E.g., Rosenfeld v.
U.S. Dep't of Justice, No. C-07-3240-EMC, 904 F. Supp. 2d 988, 1002 (N.D. Cal.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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2012)(confirming an attorney with 28 years of experience would command an hourly billed rate

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between $640 and $875); Californians for Disability Rights, Inc. v. California Dept. of Transp., C

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06–5125 SBA, 2011 WL 8180376 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 2, 2011)(awarding hourly rate of $730 for

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attorney with 26 years of experience).
Fillerup provided a breakdown of how he spent the 69.9 hours he billed between May and

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August 2017. Fillerup Decl. ¶ 3. The hours appear to be reasonable.
In accordance with the foregoing, Linden Ox is entitled to recover the $37,584.00 in

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additional attorney’s fees.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: October 6, 2017

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William H. Orrick
United States District Judge

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To arrive at this figure, Fillerup must have deducted some amount of fees because his rate
multiplied by his hours equals $37,746.
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