Navistar, Inc. et al v. Pure Power, LLC

Filing 35

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER Granting 30 MOTION for Attorney Fees <. Plaintiffs shall have from defendant the sum of $9,920 representing an award of attorney fees. Signed by Judge B. Lynn Winmill. (caused to be mailed to non Registered Participants at the addresses listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) by (jp)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO

NAVISTAR, INC.; PURE POWER
TECHNOLOGIES, LLC; and
INTERNATIONAL ENGINE
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
COMPANY, LLC,

Case No. 4: 12-CV-013-BLW
MEMORANDUM DECISION
AND ORDER

Plaintiff,
v.

PURE POWER, LLC,
Defendant.

The Court has before it a motion for attorney fees filed by plaintiffs, seeking
$9,920 in fees from defendant. The motion was filed and served on December 17, 2012,
and there has been no timely response – or any response at all – filed by defendant.
In an earlier filed Order, the Court found that a discovery dispute arose between
the parties “because defense counsel failed to communicate with plaintiffs’ counsel, and
has either failed to file discovery responses or filed them late.” See Order (Dkt. No. 28).
For example, plaintiffs filed their initial disclosures on September 7, 2012, but defendants
failed to respond with their own initial disclosures. Two months passed, and despite
repeated attempts to contact defense counsel by plaintiffs’counsel, defense counsel failed

Memorandum Decision & Order - 1

to respond. This, and other discovery failures by the defense, prompted plaintiffs to
initiate the Court’s protocol for resolving discovery disputes and seek a mediation with
the Court before filing any motion to compel. Following that mediation session, the
Court issued its Order, set forth above, finding that defense counsel had caused the
discovery dispute by failing to communicate and failing to file discovery responses, and
authorized plaintiffs to file this motion for attorney fees.
The fees sought by plaintiffs were incurred by them in an attempt to compel
defendant to comply with its discovery obligations. The hourly rate and the total hours
charged are both reasonable. There is no showing that the discovery failures by the
defense counsel were justified or that other circumstances would make an award unjust.
Accordingly, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(a)(5), (c) & (d), the Court will grant the motion
for attorney fees.
ORDER
In accordance with the Memorandum Decision set forth above,
NOW THEREFORE IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, that the motion for attorney fees
(docket no. 30) is GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that plaintiffs shall have from defendant the sum of
$9,920 representing an award of attorney fees.

Memorandum Decision & Order - 2

DATED: March 25, 2013

Honorable B. Lynn Winmill
Chief U. S. District Judge

Memorandum Decision & Order - 3