Coward v. Jabe et al

Filing 248

MEMORANDUM OPINION re: pltf's Motion for Attorney Fees and Expenses. Signed by District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema on 11/09/17. (pmil, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Alexandria Division

KALVIN DONNELL COWARD,

Plaintiff,

l:10-cv-147 (LMB/MSN)

V.

A. DAVID ROBINSON, Chief of
Corrections, ^ aL,
Defendants

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before the Court is plaintiff Kalvin Donnell Coward's ("Cowaird" or "plaintiff) Motion
for Attorney Fees and Expenses ("PL's Mot. Fees") [Dkt. No. 242], in which plaintiff seeks an

order awarding his counsel $388,967.50 in attorneys' fees and $31,255.00 in litigation expenses.
Defendants A. David Robinson and Harold W. Clarke (collectively, "defendants") argue that the

amount of plaintiffs request is unreasonable due to block-billing and vague entries, multiple
timekeepers billing time for the same task, and that some portions of the request relate to

irrelevant matters. For the reasons that follow, plaintiffs motion will be granted in part and

denied in part, and counsel for plaintiff will be awarded a total of $338,268.30, consisting of
$310,748.30 in attorneys' fees and $27,520.00 in expenses.
I.

BACKGROUND

The factual and procedural background of this case is fully recounted in the Court's

Memorandum Opinion. See Coward v. Robinson. No. lO-cv-147, 2017 WL 3699866 (E.D. Va.
Aug. 28, 2017). In brief, plaintiff alleged that defendants, in their capacities as employees of the

Virginia Department of Corrections, unlawfully impeded his religious exercise as an adherent of

the Nationsof Gods and Earths ("NGE" or "the Nation") in violation of the Religious Land Use