Manton et al v. Strain et al

Filing 76

ORDER AND REASONS - defendants' Motion to Tax Attorneys' Fees and Costs is GRANTED. Plaintiffs Manton and IFOA and their counsel of record, Daniel G. Abel and Richard J. Feldman, are jointly and severally liable to defendants in the amount of $22,382.00 in reasonable attorneys' fees. Signed by Chief Judge Sarah S. Vance on 8/19/13. (jjs, )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
SHERRIE BURAS MANTON AND
INDEPENDENT FIREARM OWNERS
ASSOCIATION, INC.

CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS

NO: 11-785

RODNEY STRAIN, JR. ET AL.

SECTION: R(3)

ORDER AND REASONS
The Court has reviewed and considered the Magistrate's
Report and Recommendation (R&R) concerning the defendants' Motion
to Tax Costs and Attorneys' Fees,1 the parties' submissions in
response thereto,2 the Magistrate's Supplemental Report and
Recommendation (SR&R) regarding the amount of attorneys' fees to
be awarded,3 and plaintiffs' objections thereto.4
The Court agrees with the Magistrate that defendants' Motion
to Tax Costs and Attorneys' Fees should be granted, and it adopts
the R&R as its opinion. As the Magistrate correctly noted in the
R&R, an award of attorneys' fees is warranted in this case
because (1) plaintiffs failed to establish a prima facie case on
any of their claims, (2) defendants never offered to settle the
case, and (3) this Court dismissed Manton's claims on the grounds
of res judicata and IFOA's claims because they were unsupported

1

R. Doc. 67.

2

R. Docs. 68, 73.

3

R. Doc. 74.

4

R. Doc. 75.

by any evidence.5 See Myers v. City of West Monroe, 211 F.3d 289,
292 (5th Cir. 2000). Plaintiffs have presented no arguments
tending to contradict the Magistrate's analysis.
The Court also agrees with the conclusions set forth in the
Magistrate's SR&R and adopts that Report as its opinion as well.
Plaintiffs' opposition to the SR&R merely restates the arguments
made in plaintiffs' earlier submissions.6 For the reasons stated
in the R&R and the SR&R, these arguments are meritless.
Accordingly, defendants' Motion to Tax Attorneys' Fees and
Costs is GRANTED. Plaintiffs Manton and IFOA and their counsel of
record, Daniel G. Abel and Richard J. Feldman, are jointly and
severally liable to defendants in the amount of $22,382.00 in
reasonable attorneys' fees. Cf. Blanco River, LLC v. Green, 457
F. App'x 431, 434, 438-39 (5th Cir. 2012) (affirming district
court's imposition of sanctions jointly and severally on
defendant and defendant's counsel because defendant had acted in
bad faith and counsel had unreasonably and vexatiously multiplied
the proceedings).
New Orleans, Louisiana, this 19th day of August, 2013.
__
_________________________________
SARAH S. VANCE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

5

R. Doc. 67 at 7-8.

6

Compare R. Doc. 75 with R. Docs. 57, 73.
2