Reyes-Ortiz et al v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico et al
Filing
12
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING 1 Plaintiff's request for attorney's fees as the prevailing party in the underlying administrative proceeding on behalf of her minor child. Plaintiff is awarded $3,034.25 in attorney's fees and $ ;531.20 in costs, totaling $3,565.45, plus interest. Defendants are jointly and severally liable to Plaintiff in the amount of $3,565.45, plus any interest accrued. Judgment to enter accordingly. Signed by Judge Jose A. Fuste on 06/30/2015.(mrj) Modified on 7/2/2015 to correct filed date (nat).
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
1
2
3
4
TERESA REYES-ORTIZ, etc.,
Plaintiff,
Civil No. 3:15-cv-01215 (JAF)
v.
COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO,
et al.,
Defendants.
5
6
OPINION AND ORDER
7
Plaintiff, Mrs. Teresa Reyes-Ortiz, personally and on behalf of her minor
8
daughter, T.P.R., a child with disabilities, brings this action for attorney’s fees and costs
9
pursuant to section 1415(i)(3)(B) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
10
(hereinafter “IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3)(B). (Docket Nos. 1, 10, & 11). IDEA’s
11
section 1415(i)(3)(B) provides that a federal district court can award attorneys’ fees and
12
costs to the parents of a child with a disability who is a prevailing party in an
13
administrative proceeding. See 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3)(B). See also 34 C.F.R.
14
§ 300.517(a)(1)(i) (2010).
15
In the verified complaint, Plaintiff requests an award of the attorney’s fees and
16
costs incurred in administrative proceeding number 2013-069-014, plus additional fees
17
and costs incurred in the present litigation. Plaintiff seeks fees computed at an hourly rate
18
of $135 per hour for the work of Attorney Francisco J. Vizcarrondo-Torres and $50 per
19
hour for the work of paralegal Marta Díaz Fonseca, totaling 24.90 hours and $3,088.25
Civil No. 3:15-cv-01214 (JAF)
-2-
1
through March 10, 2015, plus an additional $531.20 in costs, for a total request of
2
$3,829.95. 1
3
20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3)(B) provides that “[i]n any action or proceeding brought
4
under [section 1415 of the IDEA], the court, in its discretion, may award reasonable
5
attorneys’ fees as part of the costs . . . to a prevailing party who is the parent of a child
6
with a disability.” “Under the IDEA, . . . the aggrieved child’s parents . . . . may seek
7
attorneys’ fees as prevailing parties” through its fee-shifting provision. Smith v.
8
Fitchburg Pub. Sch., 401 F.3d 16, 18 n.1 (1st Cir. 2005). The fees awarded “shall be
9
based on rates prevailing in the community in which the action or proceeding arose for
10
the kind and quality of services furnished. No bonus or multiplier may be used in
11
calculating the fees awarded under this subsection.” 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(3)(C). The First
12
Circuit has explained that the IDEA’s fee-shifting provision should be interpreted in a
13
manner consistent with the fee-shifting statute of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C.
14
§ 1988(b), and other similar fee-shifting statutes. Doe v. Boston 2 Pub. Sch., 358 F.3d 20,
15
26 (1st Cir. 2004).
16
Defendants stipulate that Plaintiff prevailed in the administrative hearing and is
17
entitled to attorney’s fees and costs under the IDEA. There is no dispute over the
18
reasonableness of the hourly rate charged. “Fees are presumptively reasonable where the
19
requesting party has multiplied a reasonable hourly rate by the number of hours
20
reasonably spent on litigation.” See Gay Officers Action League v. Puerto Rico, 247 F.3d
1
Plaintiff also indicated her intent to supplement the motion for attorneys’ fees to include those
incurred since the filing of the Verified Complaint.
Civil No. 3:15-cv-01214 (JAF)
-3-
1
288, 293 (1st Cir. 2001) (citing Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433). The First Circuit has adopted
2
the “lodestar approach,” in which “the trial judge must determine ‘the number of hours
3
reasonably expended on the litigation multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate.’” Id. (citing
4
Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433). In the lodestar method, “the judge calculates the time counsel
5
spent on the case, subtracts duplicative, unproductive, or excessive hours, and then
6
applies prevailing rates in the community (taking into account the qualifications,
7
experience, and specialized competence of the attorneys involved).” Id. (citing Lipsett v.
8
Blanco, 975 F.2d 934, 937 (1st Cir. 1992)).
9
The logged hours are reasonably spent on litigation unless “duplicative,
10
unproductive, or excessive.” Id. In addition, after calculation of the initial “amount of the
11
award, attorney’s fees may be reduced because of (1) the overstaffing of a case, (2) the
12
excessiveness of the hours expended on the legal research or the discovery proceedings,
13
(3) the redundancy of the work exercised, or (4) the time spent on needless or unessential
14
matters.” Serrano v. Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel Spa & Casino, 808 F. Supp. 2d 393,
15
398 (D.P.R. 2011) (quoting Ramos v. Davis & Geck, Inc., 968 F. Supp. 765, 775 (D.P.R.
16
1997)) (internal quotation marks omitted)).
17
Defendants object, however, to specific time entries of Plaintiff’s request and seek
18
a reduction of $1,029.00 for time they deem as repetitive, unproductive, excessive, and/or
19
constituting “mere clerical tasks.” Specifically, Defendants seek a $715.80 reduction for
20
drafting and reviewing documents, and planning and preparing for the administrative
21
hearing; $259.20 for meetings, telephone conferences and/or e-mail communications with
Civil No. 3:15-cv-01214 (JAF)
-4-
1
the client; and $54.00 for e-mail communications with the client, administrative law
2
judges and Defendants’ counsels.
3
First, the court finds that the hourly rate requested is reasonable. This court has
4
previously found that $135.00 per hour for Attorney Vizcarrondo’s work is reasonable.
5
Hernandez-Melendez v. Puerto Rico, No. 3:14-cv-01493-JAF, slip op, 2014 WL
6
4260811, at *2 (D.P.R., Aug. 29, 2014) (“Based on Attorney Francisco J. Vizcarrondo-
7
Torres’ expertise and experience the rate of $135.00 per hour is found to be appropriate,
8
if not at the lower end for attorneys in the Puerto Rico community.”) Plaintiff has met the
9
burden to show the reasonableness of the hourly rate. Defendants do not object to the
10
hourly rate.
11
Similar to Hernandez-Melendez, Defendants want this court to apply a 40%
12
reduction in the fees requested stating that the time spent by Attorney Vizcarrondo-Torres
13
was excessive. Once again, the court disagrees. Attorney Vizcarrondo-Torres spent 10
14
hours reviewing and drafting pleadings and other documents 2 and 2.7 hours preparing for
15
the administrative hearing. Defendants want this court to slice those numbers down by
16
40%.
17
administrative court is not excessive.
We decline.
A total of 12.7 hours to prepare a successful case before an
18
Defendants next seek to cut the attorney’s fees by 40% for client communications
19
stating that the entries regarding the communications between Attorney Vizcarrondo-
20
Torres and Plaintiff are vague, unnecessary, redundant, unproductive, excessive, and
21
repetitive. The court disagrees. Client communication is necessary for a competent
2
Plus an additional 1.5 hours billed by the paralegal.
Civil No. 3:15-cv-01214 (JAF)
-5-
1
attorney to identify the alleged wrong, craft appropriate documents, and adequately
2
prepare a case. Accordingly, reasonable time spent communicating with a client is
3
compensable. Here, the total time requested for client communication from May 30,
4
2013, through July 10, 2014, is 4.8 hours. After reviewing the time entries, the court
5
finds that the requested fees are reasonable.
6
Finally, Defendants seek to deduct $54.00 in fees for a half hour of time billed for
7
drafting email communications it identifies as clerical in nature. The court agrees that
8
“clerical or secretarial tasks ought not to be billed at lawyers’ rates, even if a lawyer
9
performs them.”
10
Lipsett v. Blanco, 975 F.2d 934, 940 (1st Cir. 1992).
Here, the
Defendants take issue with the following entries:
11
Description
Entries for clerical tasks:
1. Draft e-mail communication to
DOE's counsel, attorney Silka Lucena,
re:enclosing plaintiffs documentary
evidence.
2. Review e-mail communication sent
by DOE's counsel, attorney Sylka
Lucena re; acknowledging receipt and
enclosing response our e-mail
communication.
3. Draft letter communication to Mrs.
Teresa Reyes re: enclosing copy of
assistive technology revaluation report
submitted by the DOE.
4. Draft letter communication to client
re: enclosing copy of resolution for
client's review and file.
12
Date
Hours Billed
Rate
7/15/2013
0.10
135.00
Amount
Billed $
13.50
8/16/2013
0.10
135.00
13.50
9/4/2013
0.10
135.00
13.50
9/12/2013
0.10
135.00
13.50
Civil No. 3:15-cv-01214 (JAF)
-6-
1
The court agrees with Defendants that Plaintiff has included time entries for
2
clerical tasks. Accordingly, the court deducts .4 hours for clerical tasks, amounting to a
3
deduction of $54.00 of the requested fees.
4
Having reviewed the briefs and accompanying documentation, the court finds
5
Plaintiff’s fee request is reasonable and, hereby, GRANTS Plaintiff’s request for
6
attorney’s fees as the prevailing party in the underlying administrative proceeding on
7
behalf of her minor child. Plaintiff is awarded $3,034.25 in attorneys’ fees and $531.20
8
in costs, totaling $3,565.45, plus interest. Defendants are jointly and severally liable to
9
Plaintiff in the amount of $3,565.45, plus any interest accrued.
10
IT IS SO ORDERED.
11
San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 30th day of June, 2015.
12
13
14
S/José Antonio Fusté
JOSE ANTONIO FUSTE
U. S. DISTRICT JUDGE
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?