Hicks v. Great Lakes Home Health Services, Inc. et al

Filing 56

ORDER Granting 53 Petition for Attorney Fees and Expenses filed by Laura Beth Hicks Signed by District Judge George Caram Steeh. (MBea)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
LAURA BETH HICKS,
Plaintiff,
CASE NO. 17-CV-12674
HON. GEORGE CARAM STEEH

v.
GREAT LAKES HOME HEALTH
SERVICES, INC. and GREAT
LAKES ACQUISITION CORP., d/b/a
GREAT LAKES CARING,
Defendants.
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ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S PETITION
FOR ATTORNEY’S FEES AND EXPENSES (Doc. 53)
This putative collective action brought under the Fair Labor Standards
Act (AFLSA@), 29 U.S.C. ' 201 et seq., sought overtime compensation for
work Plaintiff Laura Beth Hicks, a registered nurse, performed as a home
health worker. The parties have settled this matter. As part of their
settlement agreement, the parties agreed that this court shall determine the
attorney’s fees award to Plaintiff, that the court’s order would be final and
not subject to appeal, and that the court need not issue a written opinion.
(Doc. 51-1 at ¶ 7, PgID 1923-24). The court has carefully considered the
parties’ submissions, including plaintiff’s counsel’s particularized billing
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records, and has consulted the 2017 Michigan Bar’s Economics of
Practice- Attorney Income and Billing Rate Summary Report in determining
attorney’s reasonable pay. The court has used the lodestar method in
determining fees, but has imposed a significant reduction of the lodestar
amount to reflect Plaintiff’s limited success as her claim for certification of a
nationwide class was denied, and she settled her individual claim for a
modest amount. On the other hand, the court is mindful of the public policy
reasons supporting an award of attorney’s fees in an FLSA case in order to
encourage the vindication of congressionally identified policies and rights.
Balancing these two objectives, and having duly considered all of the
parties’ submissions,
IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s petition for attorney’s fees and costs
(Doc. 53) is GRANTED and attorney’s fees in the amount of $56,000,
which includes attorney travel expenses, and costs in the amount of $3,000
for a total award of $59,000.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: August 27, 2019
s/George Caram Steeh
GEORGE CARAM STEEH
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
Copies of this Order were served upon attorneys of record on
August 27, 2019, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.
s/Marcia Beauchemin
Deputy Clerk

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