Our Children's Earth Foundation et al v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency et al

Filing 70

ORDER striking [69-1] Reply Declaration of Christopher Sproul. Amended declaration due by 6/15/2015. Defendants' surreply due by 7/6/2015. Motion Hearing continued to 9/3/2015 11:00 AM in Courtroom 4, 3rd Floor, Oakland before Magistrate Judge Kandis A. Westmore. Signed by Judge Kandis A. Westmore on 5/20/2015. (kawlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/20/2015)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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OUR CHILDREN'S EARTH
FOUNDATION, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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v.
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY, et al.,

Case No. 13-cv-02857-JSW (KAW)
ORDER STRIKING REPLY
DECLARATION OF CHRISTOPHER
SPROUL; ORDER CONTINUING
HEARING TO SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
Re: Dkt. Nos. 59 & 69-1

United States District Court
Northern District of California

Defendants.
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On February 26, 2015, Plaintiffs filed a motion for attorneys’ fees and costs. (Dkt. No. 59.)
Thereafter, the motion was referred to the undersigned for report and recommendation.
Plaintiffs’ motion, however, does not comply with Civil Local Rule 54-5(b), as it did not

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include a statement of services rendered by each person nor a description of qualifications and

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experience to support the hourly rates sought. See Civil L.R. 54-5(b)(2),(3). Plaintiffs attempted

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to rectify this oversight in filing their reply, but did not succeed in providing billing records and

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supporting information in a format usable by the Court.

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Additionally, the Reply Declaration of Christopher Sproul is argumentative in nature, as it

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repeatedly rebuts Defendants’ opposition, rather than being factual in nature. In fact, it appears to

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be an extension of Plaintiffs’ reply in an attempt to circumvent the page limit, which is

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inappropriate. Accordingly, the declaration is stricken, and Mr. Sproul may submit an amended

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declaration in support of the reply, with usable exhibits attached, on or before June 15, 2015.

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Failure to timely submit an amended declaration will result in the Court recommending that any

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hours billed by Mr. Sproul not be awarded.

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In light of the large number of hours billed, Mr. Sproul’s declaration should include a
single billing statement that represents all work performed by all timekeepers, in chronological

order, so that the Court may easily determine whether the number of hours billed was reasonable.

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Mr. Sproul’s declaration shall also include charts summarizing the amount of time spent by him

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and each of his colleagues, separated by timekeeper and billing rate, such that if one timekeeper’s

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hourly rate increased, the new rate and amount of time spent would be on a different line.

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Separate summaries should be provided for pre-filing work, work performed after the filing of the

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complaint, work performed after the Consent Decree, and work performed in connection with this

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motion. The Court notes that if, as Defendants claim, Plaintiffs are seeking to recover upwards of

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300 hours in connection with the motion for attorneys’ fees, that amount of time is likely

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excessive. Nonetheless, the Court trusts that Mr. Sproul will adjust the amount of fees sought in

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connection with both the original motion and the reply brief in light of his failure to comply with

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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the Civil Local Rules, which is no fault of Defendants, and will not seek fees for the time spent on

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his amended declaration.

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Since Defendants did not have the benefit of opposing a motion that complied with Civil

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Local Rule 54-5, they are permitted to file a surreply, not to exceed 10 pages, on or before July 6,

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2015. No additional filings will be permitted unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

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The parties are invited to further meet and confer in an attempt to resolve the pending
motion without additional court intervention.

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Thus, the hearing scheduled for May 28, 2015 is continued to September 3, 2015.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: May 20, 2015
__________________________________
KANDIS A. WESTMORE
United States Magistrate Judge

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