Carter v. Department of Corrections et al

Filing 137

ORDER signed by Judge Brett H Ludwig on 3/23/23 denying 136 Motion to Alter Judgment. (cc: all counsel)(jad)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
DONIEL CARTER,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 18-cv-727-bhl

ERIKA WATSON,
Defendant.
ORDER
On November 4, 2021, a jury awarded Plaintiff Doniel Carter $125,000 in punitive
damages and the Clerk’s office entered judgment in that amount. Dkt. Nos. 104 & 105. Later, the
Court awarded attorney’s fees in the amount of $141,292.38. See Dkt. Nos. 129 & 134. On
February 23, 2023, Carter filed a motion to alter the judgment to add the attorney’s fees award.
Dkt. No. 136.
“Every judgment and amended judgment must be set out in a separate document, but a
separate document is not required for an order disposing of a motion…for attorney’s fees under
Rule 54.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 58(a)(3). Indeed, “a claim for attorney’s fees is not part of the merits of
the action to which the fees pertain. Such an award does not remedy the injury giving rise to the
action.” Budinich v. Becton Dickinson & Co., 486 U.S. 196, 202 (1988). “A motion for attorney’s
fees…does not imply a change in the judgment, but merely seeks what is due because of the
judgment.” White v. N.H. Dep’t of Emp’t Sec., 455 U.S. 445, 452 (1982). Therefore, the Court
will deny the motion as unnecessary under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and because it
may create confusion regarding finality, which entry of judgment is meant to avoid. See Budinich,

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486 U.S. at 202; see also Feldman v. Olin Corp., 673 F.3d 515, 517 (7th Cir. 2012) (“Rule 58
should not be read to mean that some motions for awards of attorneys’ fees are ‘under’ Rule 54
and others are ‘under’ something else and therefore require a separate judgment document to start
the 30-day appeal time running.”).
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion to alter the judgment to add
attorney’s fees (Dkt. No. 136) is DENIED.
Dated at Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 23, 2023.
s/ Brett H. Ludwig
BRETT H. LUDWIG
United States District Judge

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