Amaral v. Advantage Weatherization, Inc. et al

Filing 152

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ORDER ON PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS FEES'. Accordingly, the Motion for Fees and Costs, Doc. No. 140 , is ALLOWED. Defendant Kelley shall make payment within twenty-one days of this Order. As this is the last matter remaining in this case, the Clerk shall now close this case. (Simeone, Maria) Modified on 12/4/2014 (Simeone, Maria).

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

DEREK AMARAL, individually and on
behalf of all current and former similarlysituated employees of Defendants
Plaintiff,
v.
ADVANTAGE WEATHERIZATION,
INC., and JOHN KELLY
Defendants.

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Civil Action No. 12-11583-LTS

ORDER ON PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES
December 2, 2014
SOROKIN, J.
Defendant Kelly failed to make his contribution to the settlement fund at the time
required by the settlement contract and the Court’s Order. Although he has explained this
deficiency as resulting from financial impossibility, he neither raised such impossibility with
Plaintiffs’ counsel at the time payment was due nor in advance of that time. Only after the
intervention of Plaintiffs’ counsel (in the form of their initiation of contact with defense counsel)
and the threatened filing of an Emergency Motion did Defendant Kelly make a partial
contribution. Similarly, it was after the filing of the Motion that Defendant Kelly proposed a
payment plan for the remaining amount owed, which, to his credit, he honored.
At no time has Defendant Kelly established that earlier compliance with his obligations
was not possible. Indeed, the facts suggest, and I find, otherwise. In these circumstances,

Plaintiffs’ counsel are entitled to reimbursement for the reasonable attorneys’ fees set forth in
their submission, which were incurred in the course of the Emergency Motion and were
reasonably necessary to secure compliance with a Court order. See Chambers v. NASCO, Inc.,
501 U.S. 32, 45 (1991) (noting that, as an exercise of its inherent powers, “a court may assess
attorney’s fees as a sanction for the ‘willful disobedience of a court order.’”) (quoting Alyeska
Pipeline Serv. Co. v. Wilderness Soc’y, 421 U.S. 240, 258 (1975)); Galanis v. Szulik, 841 F.
Supp. 2d 456, 460-61 (D. Mass. 2011).
Accordingly, the Motion for Fees and Costs, Doc. No. 140, is ALLOWED. Defendant
Kelley shall make payment within twenty-one days of this Order. As this is the last matter
remaining in this case, the Clerk shall now close this case.

SO ORDERED.
/s/ Leo T. Sorokin
Leo T. Sorokin
United States District Judge

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