Hernandez-Melendez et al v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico et al
Filing
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OPINION AND ORDER re 1 Complaint, filed by R.R.H., Rafael Roman-Jimenez, Angeles Hernandez-Melendez. Plaintiffs are awarded $4,374.00 in attorneys' fees and $522.05 in costs, totaling $4,896.05, plus interest. Defendants are jointly and severally liable to Plaintiffs in the amount of $4,896.05, plus any interest accrued. Judgment shall be entered accordingly. Signed by Judge Jose A. Fuste on 08/29/2014.(mrj)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
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ANGELES HERNANDEZ-MELENDEZ,
et al.,
Civil No. 3:14-cv-01493 (JAF)
Plaintiffs,
v.
COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO,
et al.,
Defendants.
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OPINION AND ORDER
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This matter is before the court on Plaintiffs’ request for attorney’s fees as the
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prevailing party in the litigation of an administrative proceeding under the Individuals
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with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. §1400-85. (Docket No. 1).
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Defendants object to the reasonableness of the requested fees. (Docket No. 8). At the
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request of the court, Plaintiffs updated their fee request to include all fees and costs
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incurred to date. (Docket No. 13.)
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In the verified complaint, Plaintiffs request an award of the attorney’s fees and
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costs incurred in administrative proceeding number 2013-069-046, plus additional fees
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and costs incurred in the present litigation. (Docket No. 1 at 5.) Plaintiffs seek fees
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computed at an hourly rate of $135 per hour for 27 hours ($3,645) through June 16, 2014,
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plus an additional $850.50 incurred since the filing of the verified complaint (Docket
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No. 13-1), plus $522.05 in costs, for a total request of $5,017.55
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Defendants object to the request arguing that Plaintiffs are entitled to only
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$2,968.25 of their initial fee request. Plaintiffs filed the bill of costs and updated fee
Civil No. 3:14-cv-01493 (JAF)
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request on August 13, 2014. (Docket Nos. 11 and 13.) As of the date of this Order,
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Defendants did not reply.
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requested amount and the amount Defendants deem reasonable is less than $700.
The court notes that the difference between the initial
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20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3)(B) provides that “[i]n any action or proceeding brought
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under [section 1415 of the IDEA], the court, in its discretion, may award reasonable
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attorneys’ fees as part of the costs . . . to a prevailing party who is the parent of a child
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with a disability.” “Under the IDEA, . . . the aggrieved child’s parents . . . . may seek
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attorneys’ fees as prevailing parties” through its fee-shifting provision. Smith v.
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Fitchburg Pub. Sch., 401 F.3d 16, 18 n.1 (1st Cir. 2005). The fees awarded “shall be
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based on rates prevailing in the community in which the action or proceeding arose for
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the kind and quality of services furnished. No bonus or multiplier may be used in
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calculating the fees awarded under this subsection.” 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3)(C). The First
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Circuit has explained that the IDEA’s fee-shifting provision should be interpreted in a
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manner consistent with the fee-shifting statute of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C.
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§ 1988(b), and other similar fee-shifting statutes. Doe v. Boston 2 Pub. Sch., 358 F.3d 20,
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26 (1st Cir. 2004).
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Defendants do not dispute that Plaintiffs are the parents of a child with a disability
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who was the prevailing party in the underlying administrative proceeding. There is no
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dispute that Plaintiffs are entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. “Fees are
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presumptively reasonable where the requesting party has multiplied a reasonable hourly
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rate by the number of hours reasonably spent on litigation.” See Gay Officers Action
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League v. Puerto Rico, 247 F.3d 288, 293 (1st Cir. 2001) (citing Hensley, 461 U.S. at
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433). The First Circuit has adopted the “lodestar approach,” in which “the trial judge
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must determine ‘the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation multiplied by
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a reasonable hourly rate.’” Id. (citing Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433). In the lodestar method,
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“the judge calculates the time counsel spent on the case, subtracts duplicative,
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unproductive, or excessive hours, and then applies prevailing rates in the community
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(taking into account the qualifications, experience, and specialized competence of the
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attorneys involved).” Id. (citing Lipsett v. Blanco, 975 F.2d 934, 937 (1st Cir. 1992)).
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The logged hours are reasonably spent on litigation unless “duplicative,
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unproductive, or excessive.” Id. In addition, after calculation of the initial “amount of the
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award, attorney’s fees may be reduced because of (1) the overstaffing of a case, (2) the
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excessiveness of the hours expended on the legal research or the discovery proceedings,
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(3) the redundancy of the work exercised, or (4) the time spent on needless or unessential
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matters.” Serrano v. Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel Spa & Casino, 808 F. Supp. 2d 393,
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398 (D.P.R. 2011) (quoting Ramos v. Davis & Geck, Inc., 968 F. Supp. 765, 775 (D.P.R.
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1997)) (internal quotation marks omitted)).
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Defendants do not challenge the reasonableness of counsel for Plaintiffs’ hourly
Based on Attorney Francisco J. Vizcarrondo-Torres’ expertise and
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rate of $135.
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experience, the rate of $135.00 per hour is found to be appropriate, if not at the lower end
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for attorneys in the Puerto Rico community. See Zayas v. Puerto Rico, 451 F. Supp. 2d
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310, 316 (D.P.R. 2006) (Noting, eight years earlier, that the range for Puerto Rico
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attorneys practicing in this type of litigation was from $200 to $110 per hour).
Civil No. 3:14-cv-01493 (JAF)
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Defendants ask this court to subtract time they have deemed clerical, excessive or
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duplicative, unproductive, or “otherwise unnecessary.” (Docket No. 8.) With respect to
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specific time entries, Defendants take issue with Plaintiffs’ counsel using 3.4 hours
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preparing for the administrative hearing, 1.8 hours meeting with the client in preparation
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for the administrative hearing, and 9.1 hours reviewing the evidence and drafting the
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administrative complaint and other documents. Defendants ask the court to apply a 40%
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reduction in the amount of time spent on the case, arguing that the time spent reviewing
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and drafting documents and planning and preparing for the administrative hearing was
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excessive. The court disagrees. It is noted that the most common reason for reducing the
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number of hours in a fee request is to account for limited success in the underlying
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matter. That reduction is not applicable in this case. The court finds that counsel for
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Plaintiffs’ time entries for reviewing and drafting documents and preparing for the
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administrative hearing are not excessive.
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Defendants also ask the court to reduce the attorneys’ fees award for various
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communications between counsel and Plaintiffs claiming the communications are
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unnecessary, redundant, unproductive, excessive, and vague. (Docket No. 8 at 4). The
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court disagrees. Over the course of nine months, the communications totaled around 6
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hours. In a case such as this, where the parents bring the litigation on a child’s behalf, one
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expects the parents to have questions, require clarification, and provide information
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piecemeal. The total communications amount to an average of just 40 minutes per month.
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The court does not find this excessive.
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Upon review of the specific entries, the court further finds that they are not vague,
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redundant, unnecessary, or unproductive. Each of counsel for Plaintiffs’ time entries
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provides a brief description of the purpose of the communication while not disclosing the
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specifics of the attorney-client communication, e.g., “clarifying client’s multiple case
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related inquiries” and “clarifying multiple client inquiries concerning document contents
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and ongoing meeting with DOE’s personnel.” Although “response to client’s e-mail”
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may at first seem vague, when read in connection with the preceding entry from the same
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day “review e-mail communication … enclosing comments to final resolution,” the
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purpose of the e-mail response becomes clear. Accordingly, Defendants’ objection to
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counsel for Plaintiffs’ time entries as unnecessary, redundant, unproductive, excessive,
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and vague is not well-taken.
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Finally, the court agrees with Defendants that Plaintiffs have included time entries
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for clerical tasks. It is well established that “clerical or secretarial tasks ought not to be
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billed at lawyers’ rates, even if a lawyer performs them.” Lipsett v. Blanco, 975 F.2d
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934, 940 (1st Cir. 1992). Certain entries request attorneys’ fees for drafting e-mail
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communications for the purpose of acknowledging receipt of documents sent by
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Plaintiffs to counsel. For example, on October 29, 2013, counsel’s entry describes the
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task of “draft[ing] e-mail communication to Mrs. Angeles Hernandez re: acknowledging
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receipt of supplemental documents.” Other entries document counsel’s tasks of emailing
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digital copies of documents to Plaintiffs. In addition to the October 29, 2013, entry
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referenced above, Defendants identify five instances where Plaintiffs’ counsel billed for
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tasks that are clerical in nature.
The court agrees with Defendants that Plaintiffs
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improperly seek fees for these time entries. Accordingly, the court deducts $121.50 for
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these clerical tasks.
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Having reviewed the briefs and accompanying documentation, the court finds
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Plaintiffs’ fee request is reasonable and, hereby, GRANTS Plaintiffs’ request for
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attorneys’ fees as the prevailing party in the underlying administrative proceeding on
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behalf of their minor child. Plaintiffs are awarded $4,374.00 in attorneys’ fees and
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$522.05 in costs, totaling $4,896.05, plus interest. Defendants are jointly and severally
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liable to Plaintiffs in the amount of $4,896.05, plus any interest accrued.
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Judgment shall be entered accordingly.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 29th day of August, 2014.
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S/José Antonio Fusté
JOSE ANTONIO FUSTE
U. S. DISTRICT JUDGE
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