Takiguchi et al v. MRI International, Inc. et al
Filing
674
ORDERED that the Suzukis's motion for fees (ECF No. 519 ) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that $34,600.00 is released to Paul Hastings for legal fees and expenses billed in September 2016. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that $1,000.00 is released to McDonald Carano for legal fees and expenses billed in September 2016. Signed by Judge Howard D. McKibben on 5/8/2017. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - DRM)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
1
DISTRICT OF NEVADA
2
***
3
4
SHIGE TAKIGUCHI; et.al.,
Plaintiffs,
5
6
7
vs.
Case No. 2:13–cv–1183–HDM–VCF
ORDER
MRI INTERNATIONAL; et.al.,
Defendants.
8
9
10
11
Before the court are the Suzukis’s motion for September 2016 legal fees and expenses (ECF No.
519), the Plaintiffs’ response (ECF No. 538), and the Suzukis’s reply (ECF No. 546). For the reasons
stated below, the Suzukis’s motion is granted in part and denied in part.
12
I. Discussion
13
“Reasonable attorney fees must ‘be calculated according to the prevailing market rates in the
14
15
16
relevant community,’ considering the fees charged by ‘lawyers of reasonably comparable skill,
experience, and reputation.’” Tracy v. Cytta Corp., No. 2:15-cv-2029-RCJ-GWF, 2016 WL 259696 at*
17
1 (D.Nev. Jan. 21, 2016)(citing Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 895-96 n. 11, 104 S.Ct.1541 (1984)).
18
When determining the reasonableness of attorney’s fees, the court calculates the lodestar amount “by
19
taking the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation and multiplying it by a reasonable
20
hourly rate.” Fischer v. SJB-P.D. Inc., 214 F.3d 1115, 1119 (9th Cir. 2000). In rare and exceptional
21
circumstances, the court may then adjust the lodestar amount based on factors not considered during the
22
23
initial calculation. Van Gerwen v. Guarantee Mut. Life Co., 214 F.3d 1041, 1045 (9th Cir. 2000).
In June 2016, the court capped the Defendants’ monthly attorney’s fees at $10,000. (ECF No.
24
443) Any request for attorney’s fees that exceeded this amount must be approved by the court before
25
1
1
2
being distributed to defense counsel. (Id.) Pursuant to the June 2016 order, the Defendants filed a
motion for attorney’s fees in excess of $10,000. (ECF No. 519) They request $48,521.90 in attorney’s
3
fees for September 2016. In addition to their motion, the Defendants also submitted itemized billing
4
invoices from their lead counsel, Paul Hastings, and local counsel, McDonald Carano.1
The Defendants’ fee request is discounted for two reasons. First, the Defendants’ redactions
5
6
prevent the court from performing a complete lodestar calculation. For example, on September 4, 2016,
7
Attorney Rotstein billed 1.1 hours for “Research case law regarding.” (ECF No. 519-2 at 5) This is the
8
9
entirety of this billing entry. The rest of the description is redacted. (Id.) Without an adequate
description of the work performed, the court is unable to determine the reasonableness of this and other
10
similarly redacted time entries. Pursuant to this ruling, Attorney Rotstein’s hours billed are reduced by
11
15.4 hours, Research Librarian Elizabeth Elliot’s hours billed are eliminated entirely, and Attorney Peter
12
13
14
15
Brejcha’s billed hours are reduced by 5.7 hours. These hours represent time entries where the redaction
has made it impossible for the court to determine the reasonableness of the time expended for the work
performed.
Second, the Defendants continue to devote an inordinate amount of time to preparing their
16
17
monthly fee applications. With minor, month-specific variations, the Defendants file substantially
18
similar fee applications each month. The court expected the amount of time devoted to the monthly fee
19
application to decrease over time as defense counsel became more familiar with the relevant facts and
20
21
case law. Instead, defense counsel billed 17.8 hours for preparing the June 2016 fee application. (ECF
No. 507) This figure increased to 20.8 hours for preparing the July 2016 fee application (ECF No. 504).
22
In its order granting in part and denying in part Defendants’ August 2016 fee application, the court
23
24
25
1
McDonald Carano billed $1000.00 for work performed in September 2016. (ECF No. 519-3) The Plaintiffs do not dispute
McDonald Carano’s billing for this month. The court therefore grants the Suzukis’ request for $1000.00 to be paid to
McDonald Carano.
2
1
2
3
4
limited the release of funds for work related to the monthly fee application. (ECF No. 585) Funds for
approximately 14 hours of attorney time were released to compensate defense counsel for work
performed on the July 2016 fee application. (Id.)
In the September 2016 fee application, Defendants billed 19.3 hours for work related to the
5
previous month’s fee application. (ECF No. 519) This amount is excessive. Given defense counsel’s
6
familiarity with its monthly billing and the regularity of its fee applications, the court permits defense
7
counsel to recover for a maximum of 8 hours related to work on the monthly fee application. Four
8
9
hours are billed at Attorney Rotstein’s hourly rate of $250.00. Three hours are billed at Attorney
Puathasnanon’s hourly rate of $550.00. The remaining one hour is billed at Attorney Morgan’s hourly
10
rate of $650.00. This division of time approximates the proportional amount of fee work each attorney
11
contributed.
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
ACCORDINGLY, and for good cause shown,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Suzukis’s motion for fees (ECF No. 519) is GRANTED in
part and DENIED in part.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that $34,600.00 is released to Paul Hastings for legal fees and
expenses billed in September 2016.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that $1,000.00 is released to McDonald Carano for legal fees and
expenses billed in September 2016.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED this 8th day of May, 2017.
22
_________________________
HOWARD D. MCKIBBEN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
23
24
25
3
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?