Lakeview Cheese Company, LLC v Nelson-Ricks Creamery Co et al
Filing
58
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER. IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff Lakeview Cheese Company's Application for Attorney Fees (Dkt. 54 ) is GRANTED. Greenberg shall pay Lakeview $7,361.00 in 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 (cjs)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO
LAKEVIEW CHEESE COMPANY,
LLC, a Nevada corporation,
Case No. 4:13-cv-00361-BLW
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND
ORDER
Plaintiff,
v.
NELSON-RICKS CREAMERY
COMPANY, a Utah corporation;
NELSONRICKS CHEESE COMPANY,
INC., an Idaho corporation; and
GREENBERG CHEESE COMPANY, a
California corporation,
Defendants.
Before the Court is Plaintiff Lakeview Cheese Company’s Application for
Attorney Fees (Dkt. 54). For the reasons set forth below, the Court will award Lakeview
the requested attorney fees in the amount of $7,361.00.
ANALYSIS
Lakeview and Defendants Greenberg Cheese Company and Nelson-Ricks Cheese
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 1
Company, Inc. (collectively “Greenberg”) entered into a General Release and Settlement
Agreement to resolve their disputes. As part of the settlement, Greenberg agreed to the
entry of a permanent injunction, to release the surety bond, and to make four monthly
payments of $10,000 for a total payment of $40,000 to Lakeview in exchange for
Lakeview’s releasing its claims.
The first payment was due on April 1, 2014, but Greenberg never paid. To make
Greenberg perform, Lakeview filed a motion to enforce the settlement agreement, which
the Greenberg did not oppose, and the Court granted on August 21, 2014. Memorandum
Decision and Order, Dkt. 53. The Court also granted Lakeview’s request for attorney
fees incurred in enforcing the settlement agreement. To that end, the Court directed
Lakeview to submit an affidavit detailing the costs and fees incurred in enforcing the
settlement. Lakeview submitted such an affidavit, requesting $7,361.00 in attorney fees.
Greenberg has now reemerged to oppose the request. It argues that a more
reasonable fee to be awarded Lakeview is $2,560.00. Specifically, Greenberg maintains
that Lakeview’s counsel “overstaffed” this “simple legal matter[] with multiple senior
members of law firm charging top-of-the market hourly rates.” Greenberg’s Resp. Br. at
6, Dkt. 55.
The starting point for determining a reasonable attorney fee is the “lodestar”
figure, which is the number of hours reasonably expended multiplied by a reasonable
hourly rate. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424,433 (1983).
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 2
The Court has reviewed the cost bill and finds the hours Lakeview’s counsel
expended in enforcing the settlement agreement was reasonable. Greenberg argues that
Lakeview’s attorneys, Scott Randolph and Brett Foster, spent an excessive amount of
time “supervising” the work of Ted Murdock, a lawyer with 16 years of litigation
experience. But the Court reads the time entries differently than Greenberg. Based on the
Court’s review, Mr. Randolph and Mr. Foster spent the majority of their time
communicating with their client and with opposing counsel in attempt to enforce the
settlement agreement without filing a motion. It does appear Mr. Randolph spent a little
time providing background to Mr. Murdock about the case and reviewing the motion to
enforce the settlement agreement, which Mr. Murdock researched and drafted, but the
Court does not believe it was an unreasonable amount of time and likely saved Mr.
Murdock time in the long run.
Likewise, the Court finds the hourly rates are reasonable. The Court must
determine a reasonable hourly rate by considering the experience, skill and reputation of
the attorneys requesting fees. See Schwarz v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 73
F.3d 895, 906 (9th Cir. 1995). “A district court should calculate this reasonable hourly
rate according to the prevailing market rates in the relevant community, which typically
is the community in which the district court sits.” Id. (internal quotations and citations
omitted). The relevant community in this case is Boise, Idaho, where this Court sits.
Here, Greenberg does not argue that the hourly rates charged exceed the prevailing
market rates based on each attorney’s experience, skill, and reputation. Instead,
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 3
Greenbe argues th the mot
erg
hat
tion to enfor the settl
rce
lement agre
eement was not complex,
s
and ther
refore the ho
ourly rate sh
hould be re
educed to $3 an hour But the re
320
r.
easonablene
ess
of the ra does not depend on the comple
ate
t
exity of an i
isolated mo
otion, and th Court wi
he
ill
therefore not adjust the attorne rates be
e
t
eys’
ecause the m
motion was simple.
s
Accordingly the Court finds that Lakeview’s requested fee award $
A
y,
L
s
$7,361.00 is
s
reasonab
ble
ORDER
O
IT IS ORDE
T
ERED that Plaintiff Lakeview Cheese Com
t
L
mpany’s App
plication for
Attorney Fees (Dkt 54) is GR
y
t.
RANTED. Greenberg sh pay La
G
hall
akeview $7,
,361.00 in
attorney fees.
y
DAT
TED: Febru
uary 23, 20
015
__________
__________
_____
___
B. L
Lynn Winm
mill
Chief Judge
ited
District Cou
urt
Uni States D
MEMORA
ANDUM DECI
ISION AND ORDER - 4
R
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