Perez v. Premier InfoSource, Inc.

Filing 14

ORDER: For the reasons set forth in the attached Order, I adopt the thorough and well-reasoned R&R (ECF No. 11 ) and grant Plaintiffs Motion for Default Judgment (ECF No. 10 ) in part, except that I reserve any award of attorneys' fees pending further documentation from Plaintiff's counsel. Plaintiff is awarded $13,458 in damages and $5,000 in emotional damages. Plaintiff's counsel is awarded $517 in costs. As described in the attached Order, however, Pla intiff provides insufficient documentation for the $7,965 in attorney fees requested. Therefore, by January 13, 2025, Plaintiff's counsel shall submit an affidavit identifying which member of his office performed each task listed in Plaintiff's billing records (ECF No. 10-7), and the hourly rate, experience, and skill level for any individuals other than Yitzchak Zelman who worked on this matter. If any counsel or administrative staff other than Mr. Zelman did wor k on this matter, Plaintiff's submission shall also provide supporting authority demonstrating that the rate charged for that persons work is reasonable. If Mr. Zelman did all of the work described in the billing records, the affidavit shall make that clear. Ordered by Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury on 1/6/2025. (NB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
Joseph Gregory Perez,
Plaintiff,
-v-

2:23-cv-7366
(NJC) (ARL)

Premier InfoSource, Inc.,
Defendant.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
NUSRAT J. CHOUDHURY, United States District Judge:

On March 26, 2024, Plaintiff Joseph Gregory Perez (“Plaintiff”) filed a Motion for
Default Judgment against Defendant Premier InfoSource, Inc. (“Defendant”). (ECF No. 10.) On
November 18, 2024, Magistrate Judge Arlene R. Lindsay issued a Report and Recommendation
(the “R&R”) recommending that Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment be granted. (R&R,
ECF No. 11.) A copy of the R&R was filed electronically on November 18, 2024, (see id. at 9),
and Plaintiff served Defendant with a copy of the R&R on November 18, 2024. (ECF No. 13.)
The R&R instructed that any objections to the R&R must be submitted in writing to the Clerk of
Court within fourteen (14) days of service, i.e., by December 2, 2024. (R&R at 9.)
The date for filing any objections has thus expired, and no party has filed an objection to
the R&R. In reviewing a report and recommendation, the court “may accept, reject, or modify, in
whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C.
§ 636(b)(1)(C). If no objections are filed, a district court reviews a report and recommendation
for clear error. King v. Paradise Auto Sales I, Inc., No. 15-cv-1188, 2016 WL 4595991, at *1
(E.D.N.Y. Sept. 2, 2016) (citation omitted); Covey v. Simonton, 481 F. Supp. 2d 224, 226
(E.D.N.Y. 2007).

Because a motion for default judgment is dispositive, and because no party has filed
timely objections to the R&R, I review the R&R for clear error. Having conducted a review of
the motion papers and the applicable law and having reviewed the R&R de novo out of an
abundance of caution, I adopt the thorough and well-reasoned R&R (ECF No. 11) in its entirety
except that I reserve the award of attorneys’ fees pending further documentation from Plaintiff as
described below.
I adopt the conclusion of the R&R that the rate of $450 per hour for legal services
rendered by Yitzchak Zelman, Esq. (“Zelman”) is reasonable. (See R&R at 8–9.) The record
does not establish, however, that Mr. Zelman himself performed all 17.7 hours of legal work
recorded in Plaintiff’s counsel’s billing records, but merely that Mr. Zelman’s office spent 17.7
hours working on this matter. (See Zelman Aff. ¶ 25, ECF No. 10-2; Billing Records, ECF No.
10-7.) Specifically, Mr. Zelman attests that “his office” performed the work identified in the
billing records but does not attest that he actually performed those tasks, and the records
themselves do not identify who in Mr. Zelman’s office completed each task. (Zelman Aff. ¶ 25;
see also Billing Records.)
Plaintiff’s counsel shall submit an affidavit by January 13, 2025, identifying which of the
tasks listed in the billing records were performed by Mr. Zelman himself and whether any other
attorney or staff member from Mr. Zelman’s office performed any of the work listed. The
affidavit should include the hourly rate for any other attorney or staff member as well as other
pertinent information about that individual’s experience and skill.
Accordingly, I grant Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment (ECF No. 10) in part. I
award Plaintiff the $13,458 in damages and $5,000 in emotional damages. I further award
Plaintiff’s counsel $517 in costs. I reserve any award of attorneys’ fees pending further
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documentation from Plaintiff regarding which attorney or other staff member performed the
work listed in Plaintiff’s billing records.

Dated: Central Islip, New York
January 6, 2024
/s Nusrat J. Choudhury
NUSRAT J. CHOUDHURY
United States District Judge

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