El Khoury et al v. Ilyia

Filing 58

ORDER granting in part and denying in part plaintiffs' 55 Supplemental Motion for Attorney Fees by Judge Richard A Jones.(RS)

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HONORABLE RICHARD A. JONES

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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MAROUN N EL KHOURY and
SOPHIE EL KHOURY,
PlaintiffS,

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CASE NO. C16-1426 RAJ
ORDER

v.
ELIAS ILYIA,

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Defendant.

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This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Supplemental Brief Re: Attorney
Fees. Dkt. # 55. Defendant opposes the amount requested in Plaintiffs’ brief. Dkt. # 57.
For the reasons that follow, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Plaintiffs’
motion.
The Court previously granted Plaintiffs’ motion to remand and awarded attorney’s
fees and costs associated with the motion. Dkt. # 54. In doing so, the Court found that
“Defendant lacked an objectively reasonable basis for seeking removal in light of what
appear[ed]” to be blatant misrepresentations throughout the record. Id. Plaintiffs
subsequently submitted their request for fees and costs, totaling $40,740. Dkt. # 55.

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ORDER- 1

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The Court acknowledges that Defendant’s actions disrupted the efficient

2 resolution of this case. However, the Court finds Plaintiffs’ request for attorney’s fees
3 and costs to be unreasonable. The Court reviewed Plaintiffs’ billing submissions and
4 finds support for $17,000 in attorney’s fees and costs.
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The Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Plaintiffs’ motion. Dkt. # 55.

6 Defendant must pay these fees and costs, totaling $17,000, within ten (10) days of the
7 date of this Order.
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Dated this the 2nd day of May, 2017.

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A

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The Honorable Richard A. Jones
United States District Judge

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ORDER- 2