Northern, Lawrence v. Baumgart, A. et al

Filing 188

ORDER granting Plaintiff Lawrence Northern's 184 Motion for Attorney Fees. The clerk of court is directed to enter an amended judgment reflecting an award of attorney fees to plaintiff's counsel in the amount of $109,500. Plaintiff is required to pay from the judgment $18,250 toward satisfying the attorney fees assessed by the court. Signed by District Judge James D. Peterson on 4/30/2018. (jef),(ps)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

LAWRENCE NORTHERN,
Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER
13-cv-367-jdp

KOREEN FRISK,
Defendant.

Plaintiff Lawrence Northern injured his Achilles tendon playing basketball at the New
Lisbon Correctional Institution. The court held a trial on Northern’s claims that defendant
Koreen Frisk, a nurse at NLCI, violated his Eighth Amendment rights by failing to properly
examine his Achilles and provide him with pain medication after he complained of pain
following the injury. The jury decided for Northern and awarded him $73,000 in compensatory
damages.
Northern’s counsel have filed a motion for attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b),
Dkt. 184, and have documented their efforts in litigating this case, see Dkt. 184-1 and 184-2.
Those efforts were substantial: the total amount billed is close to $2 million for more than
3,300 hours of work. The total sum claimed by counsel is not available under § 1988 because
of statutes limiting the recoverable hourly rate to 150 percent of the rate for court-appointed
counsel under 18 U.S.C. § 3006A and limiting the total recovery to 150 percent of the
monetary judgment. 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(d)(2)-(3). Counsel seek an award of $109,500, which
is 150 percent of the $73,000 judgment. Defendant does not oppose this amount, and I
conclude that it is reasonable given counsel’s excellent representation in obtaining a positive
outcome for Northern.

Section 1997e(d)(2) requires that “a portion of the judgment (not to exceed 25 percent)
shall be applied to satisfy the amount of attorney’s fees awarded against the defendant.” The
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Supreme Court have concluded that the fee
amount must first be drawn from the judgment, up to 25 percent of the amount awarded to
the plaintiff. Murphy v. Smith, 844 F.3d 653, 660 (7th Cir. 2016), aff’d, 138 S. Ct. 784 (2018).
That means that 25 percent of the judgment—$18,250—must go to pay a portion the attorney
fees I have assessed.

ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiff Lawrence Northern’s motion for attorney fees, Dkt. 184, is GRANTED.
2. The clerk of court is directed to enter an amended judgment reflecting an award of
attorney fees to plaintiff’s counsel in the amount of $109,500.
3. Plaintiff is required to pay from the judgment $18,250 toward satisfying the
attorney fees assessed by the court.
Entered April 30, 2018.
BY THE COURT:
/s/
________________________________________
JAMES D. PETERSON
District Judge

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