Long v. Wyss

Filing 31

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 28 Motion for Attorney Fees. by Judge R. Brooke Jackson on 3/16/15.(jdyne, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Judge R. Brooke Jackson
Civil Action No 14-cv-03200-RBJ
JACQUELINE LONG,
Plaintiff,
v.
HANSJORG WYSS,
Defendant.

ORDER

On February 4, 2015 this Court entered an order dismissing the above-captioned case and
awarding to the defendant his reasonable attorney’s fees incurred in drafting the reply brief.
[ECF No. 26]. The key word here is reasonable.
This case was rather simple: the plaintiff brought a lawsuit against the defendant after
having previously released all claims against him. The defendant moved to dismiss the action,
and the Court granted his motion. Although the plaintiff brings her case pro se, the defendant
enlisted three attorneys to make appearances on his behalf. He also enlisted five attorneys to
draft a five-page brief, attorneys who contend that those five pages reasonably took 16.2 hours of
work and are worth $5,720.50. Mr. Wyss’s attorneys are welcome to expend as much time as
they like ensuring their briefs are iron-clad, so long as their client is willing to foot the bill.
However, this case was open and shut. The settlement agreement speaks for itself. The reply
brief safely could have been one page referring the Court back to the terms of the agreement.

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The Court finds that the fees necessarily and reasonably incurred and appropriately
awarded against the plaintiff are no more than two hours at an associate rate and one hour at a
partner rate. The Court has reviewed the affidavit affixed to the defendant’s motion [ECF No.
28-1] and calculates two hours at the average associate’s rate to be $550 (2 x $275) and one hour
at the partner rate to be $680, for a total of $1,230.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the defendant’s motion for an award of attorney’s fees
[ECF No. 28] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The defendant is awarded
$1,230 in fees to be paid by the plaintiff, Ms. Long, within 30 days of the date of this order.
DATED this 16th day of March, 2015.
BY THE COURT:

___________________________________
R. Brooke Jackson
United States District Judge

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