Howe et al v. City of Akron

Filing 705

Order granting Plaintiffs' Motion for order (Related Doc # 690 ) requiring Akron to produce its attorney fee records. The records shall be produced within 7 days. Judge John R. Adams on 9/24/14.(L,J)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION

WILLIAM HOWE, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
CITY OF AKRON,
Defendant.

) CASE NO. 5:06 CV 2779
)
)
) JUDGE JOHN R. ADAMS
)
) ORDER
)
)
)
)

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion seeking the Court to compel
production of Defendant’s attorney fee records (Doc. 690). Akron has opposed the request. For
the reasons that follow, the motion is GRANTED.
Akron contends that disclosure of its fee records is not required in this matter because
they would not provide any relevant information. Furthermore, Akron contends that the type and
specificity of its objections to Plaintiffs’ fees render production of its records unnecessary.
Initially, the Court acknowledges that there is no binding precedent that would compel
Akron to turn over its fee records. The Court further acknowledges that the Akron has made
numerous, very specific objections to Plaintiffs’ fees. At the same time, however, Akron has
also made very broad, general objections to the fees, including that the total number of hours was
unreasonable considering the case “as a whole.” As such, while Akron’s own fees may not carry
significant weight, they certainly qualify as relevant to the Court’s ultimate determination in this
matter.
Furthermore, the Court would note the highly unique nature of this litigation. Given the
number of issues presented, the multiple trials, and the multiple appeals, there can be no genuine

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comparison between this matter and any other case in which fees have been issued.
Accordingly, the fees incurred by Akron in segments of this litigation may ultimately prove to be
the most probative evidence of the reasonableness or unreasonableness of the fees incurred by
Plaintiffs for that same segment of the litigation. Accordingly, Akron shall produce its attorney
fee records to Plaintiffs’ counsel within seven (7) days of this order.
Plaintiffs’ motion for an order requiring production of Akron’s fee records is hereby
GRANTED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
September 24, 2014
Date

____/s/ Judge John R. Adams_______
JUDGE JOHN R. ADAMS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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