Sun River Energy, Inc. v. Nelson et al

Filing 259

ORDER Re: Award of Attorney's Fees. Counsel for Plaintiff shall file a Notice of Compliance with this Order re: Sanctions on or before 1/31/2013. By Magistrate Judge Michael E. Hegarty on 1/2/2013. (klyon, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 11-cv-00198-MSK-MEH
SUN RIVER ENERGY, INC.,
Plaintiff,
v.
ERIK S. NELSON,
STEVE STEPHENS, and
CORAL CAPITAL PARTNERS, INC.,
Defendants.

ORDER RE: AWARD OF ATTORNEY’S FEES

Michael E. Hegarty, United States Magistrate Judge.
Pursuant to this Court’s order granting in substantial part the Defendants’ Motion to Compel
Insurance Policies (“Motion”) [docket #250], defense counsel, Gabriel McFarland, has timely filed
an affidavit [docket #253] setting forth his years of experience and a description of the services
rendered, the amount of time spent, the hourly rate, and the total amount of attorney’s fees claimed
for Defendants’ preparation of the Motion. The Court notes that counsel also includes time spent
and fees claimed for services not approved by the Court, including correspondence and review of
documents regarding the insurance policies, as well as for preparation of the affidavit. The Court
specifically ordered “costs and attorney’s fees reasonably incurred in filing the present motion.”
Docket #250 at 3 (emphasis added). It appears that defense counsel drafted and filed the motion and
reply brief between October 5, 2012 and November 13, 2012; thus, the Court will consider time
spent and fees claimed during this time period only.

Plaintiff timely filed objections to the affidavit.1 The Court sustains Plaintiff’s objection that
the affidavit contains no information concerning qualifications and experience for either “CAH”
(Cyd Hunt) or “AKB” (unknown) and, thus, the time spent and fees claimed for these persons will
not be awarded. See D.C. Colo. LCivR 54.3.
However, the Court finds that defense counsel “MGM’s” (Mr. McFarland) hourly rate
($365.00) and the time he spent preparing and filing the motion and reply brief (1.9 hours) are
reasonable.
WHEREFORE, the Court ORDERS that Defendants be awarded the amount of $693.50, to
be paid to counsel for Defendant as a reasonable sanction of attorney’s fees. Plaintiff shall pay this
amount no later than January 21, 2013. Counsel for Plaintiff shall file a Notice of Compliance with
this Order re: Sanctions on or before January 31, 2013.
Dated at Denver, Colorado this 2nd day of January, 2013.
BY THE COURT:

Michael E. Hegarty
United States Magistrate Judge

1

The Court notes that Defendants filed a “response” to Plaintiff’s objections on December
28, 2012. The filing of such response brief was not authorized by the Court, and the Defendants
failed to seek permission to file such brief.
2