Sanford et al v. Omni Hotels Management Corporation

Filing 129

ORDER adopting 128 Report and Recommendation as amended; granting, in part, 115 Defendant's Motion for Award of Attorneys' Fees and Costs; directing the Clerk of the Court to enter judgment in accordance with this Order. Signed by Judge Marcia Morales Howard on 9/3/2020. (JW)

Case 3:16-cv-01578-MMH-PDB Document 129 Filed 09/03/20 Page 1 of 3 PageID 1182

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
BILLIE SANFORD,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 3:16-cv-1578-J-34PDB

OMNI HOTELS MANAGEMENT
CORPORATION,
Defendant.

ORDER
THIS CAUSE is before the Court on the Report and Recommendation (Dkt. No.
128; Report) entered by the Honorable Patricia D. Barksdale, United States Magistrate
Judge, on August 19, 2020. In the Report, Judge Barksdale recommends that costs be
taxed against Plaintiff in the amount of $4,972.12; Defendant’s Motion for Award of
Attorneys’ Fees and Costs (Dkt. No. 115) be granted in part; Defendant be awarded
attorney’s fees in the amount of $52,410.75; the costs and fees shall bear post-judgment
interest at 1.57 percent from November 4, 2019, until paid; and judgment be entered for
Omni Hotels Management Corporation and against Billie Sanford. See Report at 38-39.
To date, 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

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conclusions de novo. See Cooper-Houston v. S. 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, with one observation, the legal and factual
conclusions recommended by the Magistrate Judge.1 Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED:
1. The Report and Recommendation as amended here (Dkt. No. 128) is ADOPTED
as the opinion of the Court.
2. Costs in the amount of $4,972.12 are taxed against Billie Sanford.
3. Defendant’s Motion for Award of Attorneys’ Fees and Costs (Dkt. No. 115) is
GRANTED, in part.
4. Omni Hotels Management Corporation is awarded $52,410.75 in attorney’s fees.
5. The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to enter judgment for Omni Hotels
Management Corporation and against Billie Sanford for $4,972.12 for costs and
$52,410.75 for attorney’s fees, plus post-judgment interest on each amount at
1.57 percent from November 4, 2019, until paid.
DONE AND ORDERED at Jacksonville, Florida, this 3rd day of September, 2020.

1

The Court observes that while block billing is certainly discouraged, whether a fee applicant’s use of block
billing constitutes a failure to carry the applicant’s burden depends on the particular circumstances of a given
case and the challenges raised there.

2 

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ja
Copies to:
Counsel of Record

3