Anderson v. BMW of North America, LLC et al
Filing
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ORDER granting in part and denying in part 13 Motion for Attorney Fees. Signed by Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo on 04/30/2018. (ja1)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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FLOYD ANDERSON,
Case No.: 18-CV-57-WVG
Plaintiff,
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ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND
DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF'S
MOTION FOR DETERMINATION
OF ATTORNEY FEES
[ECF NO. 13]
v.
BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC,
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Defendants.
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The case at bar involves California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act,
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colloquially referred to as California’s lemon law. The parties have settled the substantive
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portion of the matter and all that remains is the determination of fees and costs. For the
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reasons that follow, the Court GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART Plaintiff’s
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Motion and awards attorney’s fees and costs in the amount of $18,431.21.
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I. BACKGROUND
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On December 5, 2017, Plaintiff Floyd Anderson filed a complaint against Defendant
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BMW NA, LLC in California Superior Court for the County of San Diego for violations
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of the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the California Song-Beverly Consumer
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Warranty Act. (Compl., ECF No. 1-2.) Plaintiff alleged that Defendant failed to adequately
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repair a 2015 BMW motorcycle within thirty days, as required by law. (Id.) On January 8,
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2018, Defendant filed an Answer in the state court action. (ECF No. 1-4.) On the same day,
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Defendant removed the action to two different federal district courts; the Central District
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of California and the Southern District of California. See 2:18-CV-00176-JFW-FFM.
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Thereafter, the action removed to the Central District of California was dismissed.
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On January 23, 2018, Plaintiff sent a settlement offer, requesting Defendant
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repurchase the motorcycle and pay Plaintiff’s attorney’s fees to that point. (Romano Decl.
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¶ 3.) Defendant declined the offer and did not make a counteroffer at that time. (Id.)
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On March 16, 2018, the Court convened a telephonic attorneys-only Early Neutral
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Evaluation, at which point the parties notified the Court the matter had settled with the
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exception of attorney’s fees. The parties further advised the Court that substantial progress
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towards the resolution of attorney’s fees issue had been made and that additional time
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would likely allow the matter to be resolved without the Court’s intervention. On March
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21, 2018, the Court convened a telephonic status conference where the parties advised the
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Court they were unable to agree to terms regarding attorney’s fees and requested the Court
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resolve the dispute.
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On March 29, 2018, the parties jointly consented to the undersigned’s jurisdiction to
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conduct all remaining proceedings and enter final judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)
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and Rule 73. (ECF No. 14). On March 30, 2018, Plaintiff filed the present motion, (Mot.,
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ECF No. 13,) and Defendant filed an opposition on April 6, 2018, (Def’s Opp’n, ECF No.
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16.) The Court convened a motion hearing on April 16, 2018.
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II. LEGAL STANDARD
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Pursuant to California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (“SBA”), a
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prevailing buyer “shall be allowed by the court to recover as part of the judgment a sum
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equal to the aggregate amount of costs and expenses, including attorney's fees based on
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actual time expended, determined by the court to have been reasonably incurred by the
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buyer in connection with the commencement and prosecution of such action.” Cal. Civ.
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Code § 1794(d). The California Court of Appeal has explained that:
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[t]he plain wording of the statute requires the trial court to base the fee award
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upon actual time expended on the case, as long as such fees are reasonably
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incurred — both from the standpoint of time spent and the amount charged. It
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requires the trial court to make an initial determination of the actual time
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expended; and then to ascertain whether under all the circumstances of the
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case the amount of actual time expended and the monetary charge being made
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for the time expended are reasonable. These circumstances may include, but
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are not limited to, factors such as the complexity of the case and procedural
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demands, the skill exhibited and the results achieved. If the time expended or
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the monetary charge being made for the time expended are not reasonable
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under all the circumstances, then the court must take this into account and
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award attorney fees in a lesser amount.
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McKenzie v. Ford Motor Co., 238 Cal. App. 4th 695, 703 (Cal. Ct. App. 2015) (internal
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quotation and citation omitted) (emphasis in original). “The Court retains discretion to
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reduce the fee award where fees were not reasonably incurred,” such as ‘padding’ in the
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form of inefficient or duplicative efforts or over-litigating the matter. Karapetian v. Kia
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Motors America, Inc., 970 F.Supp.2d 1032, 1036 (C.D. Cal. 2013).
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An attorney’s fee award is based on actual time expended and is not tied to the
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recovery. See Robertson v. Fleetwood Travel Trailers of California, Inc., 144 Cal. App.
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4th 785, 820 (Cal. Ct. App. 2006).
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III. DISCUSSION
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Plaintiff has moved the Court for an award of $20,300 in attorney’s fees and $531.21
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in costs. (Mot., ECF No. 13.) Plaintiff’s attorney fee figure is based on his attorney, Mr.
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Mark Romano, expending 40.6 hours of time on the matter at a rate of $500 per hour.
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(Romano Decl., ECF No. 13-3 at ¶¶ 13, 19-21.) Additionally, Plaintiff has included a
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detailed record of the fees and costs incurred by Mr. Romano. (See Romano Decl., Ex. 1)
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Defendant does not dispute that Plaintiff is the prevailing party and is allowed
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reasonable attorney’s fees. Defendant argues the attorney’s fee award sought is inflated
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because Mr. Romano was inefficient and his hourly rate is unreasonably high. (Def’s
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Opp’n, ECF No. 16.) The Court will discuss these arguments in turn.
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A. Attorney’s Fees Generally
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Although not expressly argued, Defendant seems to indicate that litigation as a
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whole was unnecessary because “[t]here was no demand made of any kind by [Plaintiff]
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before litigation.” (Def’s Opp’n at 2:12-13.) Defendant goes on to state that once
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“[a]fforded an opportunity to collect the records and review the service files,” Defendant
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made a “prompt decision to repurchase the vehicle[.]” (Id. at 13-15.)
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Such an argument was expressly rejected by the California Court of Appeal in Krotin
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v. Porsche Cars North America, Inc., 38 Cal. App. 4th 294 (Cal. Ct. App. 1995). In Krotin,
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it was argued that consumers “must notify the manufacturer in a reasonable and timely
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manner” of the intention to exercise rights under the SBA. Krotin, 38 Cal. App. 4th at 302-
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03. To require otherwise, it was argued, would require manufacturers to be “‘clairvoyant’
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with respect to acknowledging and responding to otherwise unknown claims by
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consumers.” Id. at 302. In rejecting this argument, the court explained that manufacturers
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need not be clairvoyant but “need only read its dealers’ service records” to determine when
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it is appropriate for a vehicle to be replaced or repurchased. Id. at 303.
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It is alleged that Defendant maintained possession of Plaintiff’s motorcycle for a
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period of 80 days before the filing of the Complaint. The SBA requires a vehicle to be
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“serviced or repaired so as to conform to the applicable warranties within 30 days.” Cal.
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Civ. Code §1793.2(b). Thus, Defendant had 50 days in which it could have resolved the
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present matter without incurring legal costs. If Defendant wished to avoid the costs
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associated with litigation, Defendant should have heeded the admonition of the Krotin
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court that manufacturers ought to “demonstrate more initiative in honoring warranties.” Id.
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at 303.
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B. Padding Of Time
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Defendant argues that Plaintiff’s counsel has padded the time spent on the matter.
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Defendant notes that Mr. Romano “bills 0.1 to review many documents, emails and
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pleadings” that are often single-line emails or “standard court notices.” (Def’s Opp’n at
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4:1-8.) Defendant also objects to Mr. Romano billing 0.2 when composing an email to
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defense counsel and then 0.2 when reviewing defense counsel’s response. (Id. At 5:21-25.)
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Defendant claims these actions could have been achieved in a minute combined. (Id.)
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Lastly, Defendant claims that 1.8 hours billed regarding the duplicate case filed in the
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Central District of California is unreasonable. Defendant argues Mr. Romano should have
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delegated the monitoring of the duplicate case to a subordinate because Defendant assured
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Mr. Romano the duplicate matter would be dismissed. (Id. at 6:1-10.)
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The Court finds that Mr. Romano did not pad in the form of excessive litigation or
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duplicative efforts but does find Mr. Romano was inefficient in his efforts at times. Mr.
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Romano billed 0.2 hours for drafting an email to defense counsel regarding the removal of
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the matter to two separate courts. (Romano Decl., Ex 1 at 1.) Mr. Romano then billed 0.2
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to review the response email from defense counsel. (Id.) In support of its argument that this
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was excessive, Defendant attached the emails in question. (Celentino Decl., Ex. A.) Mr.
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Romano’s email consists of two sentences and simply requests for a correction to be made.
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The response from defense counsel is equally terse and simply states the matter removed
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to the Central District will be dismissed; an email that may have taken seconds to read.
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Another example of excessive billing occurs where Mr. Romano bills 0.2 hours for
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providing “instructions to staff re calendaring case events.” (Romano Decl., Ex. 1 at 3.)
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The training of staff on the proper way to calendar case events is not a reasonable fee to be
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passed on to an opposing party.
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The amount of time billed for these tasks, and others throughout the billing
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statement, are excessive. As a result of this, the Court reduces Mr. Romano’s billable hours
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by 4.8, from 40.6 to 35.8. A breakdown of the adjusted amounts is attached as Exhibit A.
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However, Mr. Romano’s time entry regarding the removal of the matter to two
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different federal district courts is entirely attributable to Defendant’s error and the time
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attributed to the monitoring of this error is reasonable. Defendant erroneously removed the
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matter to both the United States District Courts for the Central and Southern Districts of
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California. Doing so required Plaintiff’s counsel to review duplicate removal documents
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and conduct a thorough review of the file to determine which removal may have been
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proper and which would need to be challenged. It is patently reasonable for counsel to
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review and follow all court proceedings, regardless of the assurances provided by opposing
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counsel. To do otherwise may expose a client to excess risk and an attorney to malpractice
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claims. All of this having been done in under two hours is reasonable.
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D. Attorney Hourly Rate
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Plaintiff seeks to have Mr. Romano compensated at an hourly rate of $500 per hour
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and has provided evidence demonstrating Mr. Romano’s experience and the tasks
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completed in this matter. Defendant argues the rate should be reduced to $460 because the
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present matter was not complex and because counsel for Defendant charges a lower rate.
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(Celentino Decl. at ¶ 5.)
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The Court finds the hourly rate of $500 per hour to be reasonable given Mr.
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Romano’s experience, the tasks completed, and this rate is similar to rates deemed
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reasonable in other similar matters. See Gezalyan v. BMW of North America, LLC, 697
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F.Supp.2d 1168, 1171 (C.D. Cal. 2010) (rate of $425 found to be reasonable where attorney
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spent time researching and writing pleadings and motions, reviewing records, and meeting
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with the consumer); see also Goglin v. BMW of North America, LLC, 4 Cal. App. 5th 462,
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473-74 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016) (finding a rate of $575 reasonable where BMW argued the
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case was not complex and provided evidence that counsel for BMW charged much lower
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hourly rates). Defendant’s suggested hourly rate for Mr. Romano of $460 per hour similarly
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falls within a range of reasonableness but fails to demonstrate that $500 per hour is
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unreasonable.
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IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART
Plaintiff’s Motion and awards Plaintiff $18,431.21 in attorney’s fees and costs.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: April 30, 2018
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18-CV-57-WVG
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EXHIBIT A
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Date
Description
Original Hours
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1/9/2018
Confirm proof of service
0.1
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1/9/2018
Review NEF re Answer filed
0.1
1/9/2018
Review NEF re notice of assignment
0.1
1/9/2018
Review NEF re court-directed ADR program
0.1
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1/9/2018
Review NEF re Notice of Deficiencies
0.1
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1/10/2018
Review mgs’s info on court website
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1/10/2018
Review NEF re demand for jury trial
0.1
1/10/2018
Continue reviewing local rules
0.7
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1/10/2018
Draft email to Dft re dual removal
0.2
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1/10/2018
Review email from Dft re removal
0.2
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Court Adjusted
0.1
0.1
0.1
1/11/2018
Review NEF re standing order
0.1
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1/11/2018
Review NEF re courtesy copies of documents
0.1
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1/12/2018
Review standing order
0.3
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1/12/2018
Review NEF re application to dismiss
0.1
1/16/2018
Review NEF re order granting application to dismiss
0.1
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1/17/2018
Review order granting application to dismiss
0.1
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1/17/2018
Review NEF re application for refund of fees
0.1
1/18/2018
Review Dft’s application for refund of fees
0.1
1/18/2018
Review court notice to Dft re deficiencies in filing
0.1
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1/23/2018
Review Dft/s certificate of service
0.1
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1/24/2018
Reviewing NEF re refiling of request for refund
0.1
1/25/2018
Review court notice re refiling of request for refund
0.1
1/26/2018
Review NEF re application for refund of fees
0.1
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2/22/2018
Review NEF re application for refund of fees
0.1
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2/22/2018
Review Dft’s app for refund
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2/28/2018
Review order granting application for refund
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3/1/2018
Review NEF re refund
0.1
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3/1/2018
Provide instructions to staff re calendaring case events
0.2
0.0
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3/9/2018
Draft memo to staff re lodging and serving ENE
0.1
0.0
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0.1
0.3
0.2
3/14/2018
Prep for phone conf
1.0
0.5
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3/14/2018
Review NEF re minute entry of stat conf
0.1
3/21/2018
Review magistrate consent form
0.1
3/22/2018
Review proposed magistrate consent form from Dft
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3/22/2018
Receive signed consent form from client
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3/23/2018
Review email from Celentino re consent form
0.2
3/29/2018
Email to Celentino re status of consent form
0.1
3/29/2018
Receive reply email from Celentino
0.1
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5
0.3
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