SONG FI, INC. v. GOOGLE, INC. et al

Filing 144

ORDER AWARDING ATTORNEYS' FEES. Signed by Judge Claudia Wilken on 9/16/16. (dtmS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/16/2016)

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1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 3 4 5 SONG FI, INC., JOSEPH N. BROTHERTON, LISA M. PELLEGRINO, N.G.B., RASTA ROCK, INC., 6 Plaintiffs, 7 8 9 United States District Court For the Northern District of California 10 11 No. C 14-5080 CW ORDER AWARDING ATTORNEYS' FEES v. GOOGLE, INC., YOUTUBE LLC, Defendants. ________________________________/ The Court awarded attorneys' fees to Defendants for their 12 work bringing the motion for sanctions against Plaintiffs' 13 counsel, Cozen O'Connor. 14 directed Defendants to submit documentation of hours spent and 15 reasonable rates. 16 written responses. 17 Docket Nos. 114, 127. The Court It considers that submission and the subsequent Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(c)(4) permits a sanction 18 in the form of attorneys' fees and other expenses "directly 19 resulting from the violation." 20 form, the measure "is not actual expenses and fees but those the 21 court determines to be reasonable." 22 1165, 1185 (9th Cir.), opinion amended on denial of reh'g sub nom. 23 In re Yagman, 803 F.2d 1085 (9th Cir. 1986). 24 of determining the reasonableness of the award is inquiring into 25 the reasonableness of the claimed fees. 26 exceed those expenses and fees that were reasonably necessary to 27 resist the offending action." 28 rigidly apply the factors set forth in Kerr v. Screen Extras When awarding sanctions in this Matter of Yagman, 796 F.2d An "essential part Recovery should never Id. at 1184-85. The court need not 1 Guild, Inc., 526 F.2d 67, 70 (9th Cir. 1975), but it "must make 2 some evaluation of the fee breakdown submitted by counsel." 3 at 1185. 4 Further, the Court must consider "ability to pay." Id. Id. The Court awards eighty percent of the requested attorneys' 5 fees and all the requested costs. Although the Court finds the 6 hourly rates to be reasonable based on its experience and 7 knowledge of local hourly rates, not all of the hours spent were 8 "reasonably necessary" to file the Rule 11 motion. 9 F.2d at 1185. Yagman, 796 It was not reasonably necessary for two attorneys United States District Court For the Northern District of California 10 to communicate with their client regarding the motion for a 11 combined total exceeding ten hours.1 12 drafting and finalizing the opening Rule 11 brief alone accounts 13 for over fifty-six hours.2 14 concluded that twenty-five hours is reasonable for prosecuting a 15 Rule 11 motion. 16 (8th Cir. 1994) (awarding attorneys' fees as sanctions under an 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Further, researching, By comparison, the Eighth Circuit has Kirk Capital Corp. v. Bailey, 16 F.3d 1485, 1491 1 These summarized entries include: "Communicate with client regarding Rule 11 motion"--2.6 hours; "Communicate with client regarding Rule 11 motion strategy"--3.0 hours; and "Communicate with client regarding draft of Rule 11 motion"--5.2 hours. Docket No. 128, Willen Dec. ¶¶ 4-5. 2 These summarized entries include: "Conduct legal research regarding primary arguments in support of Rule 11 motion"--8.0 hours; "Outline Rule 11 motion"--2.1 hours; "Draft Rule 11 motion"--8.8 hours; "Review and revise Rule 11 motion per internal and client feedback"--8.1 hours; "Proofread, cite check and finalize Rule 11 motion; review and assist client in preparation of supporting declarations; prepare exhibits and proposed order; research service and filing requirements"--9.6 hours; "Draft/edit Rule 11 motion; conduct legal research regarding primary arguments"--7.9 hours; "Review and revise Rule 11 motion and supporting documents per client feedback"--7.5 hours; and "Finalize Rule 11 motion and supporting documents for service and filing"--4.4 hours. Willen Dec. ¶¶ 4-5. 2 1 older version of Rule 11 where plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed 2 their complaint instead of responding to a motion to dismiss). 3 Finally, Cozen O'Connor did not indicate that it is unable to pay. 4 5 6 Cozen O'Connor shall pay $42,723.75 in fees and $129.66 in costs. It need not pay before judgment is entered in this case. IT IS SO ORDERED. 7 8 9 Dated: September 16, 2016 CLAUDIA WILKEN United States District Judge United States District Court For the Northern District of California 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3

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