VFS Leasing Co. v. USASIA Casino Tours/Entertainment, Inc. et al

Filing 27

ORDER by Judge Samuel Conti granting 24 Motion for Attorney Fees (sclc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/26/2015)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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VFS LEASING CO.,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
USASIA CASINO
TOURS/ENTERTAINMENT, INC., et
al.,
Defendants.

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) Case No. 14-cv-02941-SC
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) ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR
) ATTORNEY'S FEES AND COSTS
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Now before the Court is Plaintiff VFS Leasing Co.'s ("VFS")

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motion for attorney's fees and costs.

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appeared or participated in this litigation, and the Court entered

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default judgment against them and in favor of VFS on January 6,

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2015.

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to the motion, which the Court took under submission without oral

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argument on March 4, 2015.

ECF Nos. 22, 23.

Defendants have never

Nor have Defendants filed any opposition
See ECF No. 26.

VFS seeks $625.00 in costs, for the $400 filing fee and $225

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in costs to serve Defendants.

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16.

See ECF No. 24-1 ("Morton Decl.") ¶

The Court finds that VFS is entitled to recover its costs

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expended in this litigation.
Regarding attorney's fees, both the master lease agreement and
attorney's fees in the event of a dispute.

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agreement permits the recovery of "reasonable attorney's fees and

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expenses" in the event of "any dispute between the parties."

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Morton Decl. Ex. A1 at 4.

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United States District Court

guaranty at issue in this case provide for the recovery of

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For the Northern District of California

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recover "all costs and expenses, including attorney's fees,

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incurred by Lessor in the enforcement of its rights and remedies"

The master lease

It also permits the lessor (VFS) to

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in the event of a default.

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that "[i]n the event of any dispute regarding this Guarranty,

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Guarantor agrees to pay all costs and expenses of the Creditor

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[VFS] (including reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses)."

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Decl. Ex. B at 1.

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to recover its reasonable attorney's fees.

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Id.

Defendants' guarantors also agreed

Morton

Therefore, the Court finds that VFS is entitled

The Court agrees with VFS that the lodestar method is the

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proper means of calculating the fees VFS may recover.

See Meister

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v. Regents of Univ. of Cal., 67 Cal. App. 4th 437, 446 (Cal. Ct.

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App. 1998) (finding that the "trial court was required to utilize

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the lodestar method" where "no other method of calculation was

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provided for").

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this case; the basis for the recovery of attorney's fees is

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contractual, and the relevant contracts do not specify a preferred

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method.

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computing a 'touchstone' amount based on a careful compilation of

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the time spent and reasonable hourly compensation and augmenting or

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diminishing this touchstone amount based on a number of relevant

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factors."

No other method of calculation is provided for in

Under the lodestar method, the fee award is calculated "by

Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).
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VFS seeks $4,986.50 in fees, based on 12 hours of attorney

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paralegal time at $115 per hour (for a total of $1506.5 ).

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support of that claim, it has submitted a summary of its time spent

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on the case, as well as the hourly rate of each attorney or

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paralegal who worked on the case.

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finds VFS's request to be reasonable, both in terms of the time its

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United States District Court

time at $290 per hour (for a total of $3,480), and 13.1 hours 1 of

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For the Northern District of California

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attorneys and staff spent on the litigation and the rates they

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charged.

Morton Decl. Ex. 2.

In

The Court

For the reasons set forth above, VFS' motion is GRANTED.

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shall submit its bill of costs within fourteen (14) days of the

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VFS

signature date of this Order, or risk waiving its costs award.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: March 26, 2015

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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The Morton Declaration itself inexplicably states that only 8.8
hours of paralegal time were expended on the case. See Morton
Decl. ¶ 15. At an hourly rate of $115, that would come to a
total of $1,012, about $500 less than VFS requests. However, the
Court's review of VFS' attorneys' time sheets reveals that 13.1
hours of paralegal time were actually expended on this case. See
id. Ex. 2. At an hourly rate of $115, that comes to a total of
$1,506.50, the amount VFS requests.

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