Graham v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company et al

Filing 322

ORDER adopting 321 Report and Recommendation; granting, in part, and denying, in part, 319 Plaintiff's Application for Attorneys' Fees. The Clerk of the Court is directed to enter judgment in accordance with this Order. Signed by Judge Marcia Morales Howard on 12/7/2017. (JW)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
THERESA GRAHAM, as Personal
Representative of the Estate of
Faye Dale Graham,
Plaintiff,
vs.

Case No. 3:09-cv-13602-J-34JBT

R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY, et al.,
Defendants.
_____________________________________/
ORDER

THIS CAUSE is before the Court on the Report and Recommendation (Dkt. No. 321;
Report), entered by the Honorable Joel B. Toomey, United States Magistrate Judge, on
November 17, 2017. In the Report, Judge Toomey recommends that Plaintiff Theresa
Graham’s Application for Attorneys’ Fees and Incorporated Memorandum of Law (Dkt. No.
319; Motion) be granted, in part, and denied, in part. See Report at 2, 8-9. No objections
to the Report have been filed, and the time for doing so has passed.
The Court “may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or
recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b). If no specific
objections to findings of facts are filed, the district court is not required to conduct a de novo
review of those findings. See Garvey v. Vaughn, 993 F.2d 776, 779 n.9 (11th Cir. 1993);
see also 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). However, the district court must review legal conclusions
de novo. See Cooper-Houston v. Southern Ry. Co., 37 F.3d 603, 604 (11th Cir. 1994);

United States v. Rice, No. 2:07-mc-8-FtM-29SPC, 2007 WL 1428615, at * 1 (M.D. Fla. May
14, 2007).
Upon independent review of the file and for the reasons stated in the Magistrate
Judge’s Report, the Court will accept and adopt the legal and factual conclusions
recommended by the Magistrate Judge. Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED:
1.

The Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation (Dkt. No. 321) is

ADOPTED as the opinion of the Court.
2.

Plaintiff Theresa Graham’s Application for Attorneys’ Fees and Incorporated

Memorandum of Law (Dkt. No. 319) is GRANTED, in part, and DENIED, in part.
a.

The Motion is GRANTED to the extent that Plaintiff is awarded

$482,729.00 in attorneys’ fees.
b.

The Motion is DENIED to the extent that Plaintiff requests $37,161.50

in attorneys’ fees incurred in this Court, without prejudice to Plaintiff filing a supplemental
motion for such attorneys’ fees within THIRTY (30) DAYS of the entry of this Order, after
conferring with Defendants pursuant to Local Rule 3.01(g), United States District Court,
Middle District of Florida.
3.

The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff,

Theresa Graham as Personal Representative of the Estate of Faye Dale Graham, c/o Lieff
Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, 275 Battery Street, Fl. 29, San Francisco, CA 94111,
and against Defendants Philip Morris USA, Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Inc.,
jointly and severally, in the amount of $482,729.00, representing $328,854.00 in attorney’s
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fees for Lieff Cabraser, $135,675.00 in attorney’s fees for Samuel Issacharoff, Esq., and
$18,200.00 in attorney’s fees for Motley Rice, LLC. Post-judgment interest will accrue at the
statutory rate set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1961.
DONE AND ORDERED in Jacksonville, Florida, this 7th day of December, 2017.

ja
Copies to:
Counsel of Record

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