Barnes v. Sea Hawaii Rafting, LLC et al

Filing 517

ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS re: 493      "The Court has carefully reviewed the F&R, the parties papers, and the various exhibits in support of Plaintiff Barness attorneys fees and costs requests, and finds that the Magistrate Judges recommended reductions are appropriate, and that awards of $206,281.00 in attorneys fees and $27,124.44 in costs and non-taxable expenses are reasonable.  &n bsp   For the foregoing reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND AJUDGED that, pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(C) and Local rule 74.2, the Findings and Recommendation to Grant in Part and Deny in Part Plaintiffs Motion for Attorneys Fee s and Costs are adopted as the opinion and order of this Court." Signed by JUDGE ALAN C. KAY on 2/13/2019. (jo)COURTS CERTIFICATE of Service - Non-Registered CM/ECF Participants have been served by First Class Mail to the addresses of record listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAI`I
)
CHAD BARRY BARNES,
)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
v.
)
)
SEA HAWAI`I RAFTING, LLC;
)
KRIS HENRY; ALOHA OCEAN
)
EXCURSIONS, LLC; JOHN
)
DOES 1-20; MARY DOES
)
1-20; DOE CORPORATIONS
)
1-20; DOE PARTNERSHIPS
)
1-20; DOE ASSOCIATES
)
1-20; DOE GOVERNMENTAL
)
AGENCIES 1-20; AND OTHER
)
ENTITIES 1-20, in personam;
)
AND M/V TEHANI, HA 1629-CP,
)
AND HER ENGINES, EQUIPMENT,
)
TACKLE, FARES, STORES,
)
PERMITS, FURNISHINGS, CARGO
)
AND FREIGHT; DOE VESSELS 1-20,)
in rem.
)
)
Defendants.
)
)

Civ. No. 13-00002 ACK-RLP

ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION
On October 5, 2018, this Court issued its Amended
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, in which it held that
Defendants Sea Hawai`i Rafting, LLC and the M/V Tehani vessel
are liable for Plaintiff Barnes’s reasonable attorneys’ fees and
costs.

See ECF No. 446 at Conclusions of Law ¶¶ 44, 45.
On January 4, 2019, the Magistrate Judge filed his

“Findings and Recommendation to Grant in Part and Deny in Part
Plaintiff’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs” (the “F&R”).
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ECF No. 493.

Plaintiff Barnes requested attorneys’ fees in the

amount of $323,799.00 and costs and non-taxable expenses in the
amount of $31,963.16.

F&R at p. 1.

The Magistrate Judge

recommended that this Court award Plaintiff Barnes attorneys’
fees in the reduced amount of $206,281.00 and costs and nontaxable expenses in the reduced amount of $27,124.44.
19.

F&R at p.

No party has filed any objection to the F&R and the

deadline by which to do so, January 18, 2019, has passed.
The Magistrate Judge recommended a reduced award of
attorneys’ fees for various reasons, including that several of
the requested rates were excessive; Plaintiff Barnes’s counsel
used block billing practices; and several time entries billed
excessive amounts of time or were duplicative of other time
entries.

See F&R at pp. 3-16.

The Magistrate Judge recommended

a reduced award of costs and non-taxable expenses because
several cost requests were duplicative or unspecified, while
others were unrelated to this case.

See F&R at pp. 17-19.

The Court has carefully reviewed the F&R, the parties’
papers, and the various exhibits in support of Plaintiff
Barnes’s attorneys’ fees and costs requests, and finds that the
Magistrate Judge’s recommended reductions are appropriate, and
that awards of $206,281.00 in attorneys’ fees and $27,124.44 in
costs and non-taxable expenses are reasonable.
For the foregoing reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND
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AJUDGED that, pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(C) and Local
rule 74.2, the “Findings and Recommendation to Grant in Part and
Deny in Part Plaintiff’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs”
are adopted as the opinion and order of this Court.

IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED:

Honolulu, Hawai`i, February 13, 2019.

________________________________
Alan C. Kay
Sr. United States District Judge

Barnes v. Sea Hawai`i Rafting, LLC, Kris Henry, M/V Tehani, et al., Civ. No.
13-00002 ACK-RLP, Order Adopting Magistrate Judge’s Findings and
Recommendation.

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