Opinion
5:18-cv-222-DPM
10-18-2021
TRENDIA BAILEY and JOHN'NIQUA WOFFORD-LIBBET, Each Individually and on Behalf of all Others Similarly Situated PLAINTIFFS v. JEFFERSON COUNTY, ARKANSAS DEFENDANT
ORDER
DP. Marshall Jr. United States District Judge
After three years of work on this case, the parties settled the liability issues. A dispute about attorney's fees and costs remains. Plaintiffs' counsel seek $31,212.15 in fees and $1,593.51 in costs. Jefferson County estimates that a third of the settlement amount, or $6,666.67, is more reasonable. The Court must determine the number of hours reasonably expended multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate, and make any appropriate reductions. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433-40 (1983); Quigley v. Winter, 598 F.3d 938, 956-59 (8th Cir. 2010).
The Court agrees with Jefferson County that the life of this case was artificially long. Doc. 75 at 1. But Plaintiffs' counsel has commendably trimmed much fat, accounting for most of the overstaffing and redundancies. Doc. 70-1. A little more needs trimming, though. Sanford and Gibson were the leads and spent a reasonable amount of time guiding the case to a favorable resolution. In the market, clients don't pay extra for staff work or over-the-shoulder lawyering. These matters are included in the hourly rates clients do pay. Fees for these kinds of things will therefore not be awarded. This trim includes fees for work by Hoyt and Brown, as well as for some of Kinney's work. Gibson used her law clerk well and sparingly. And that type of delegation can be a benefit to paying clients in most instances. The Court will make a modest reduction in billing rates, which are too high across the board for this kind of work in this District. This reduction is based on this Court's experience with current market rates in all kinds of cases. The Court awards fees for these listed hours and rates:
Josh Sanford
- 29.85 hours x $250/hour
= $7,462.50
Stacy Gibson
- 93.40 hours x $200/hour
= $18,680.00
Law Clerk -
14.5 hours x $25/hour
= $362.50
Vanessa Kinney
- 4.7 hours x $200/hour
= $940.00
$27,445.00
The Court also awards a reduced amount in costs. FED. R. ClV. P. 54(d)(1); 28 U.S.C. § 1920. The filing fee and copy costs are recoverable, 28 U.S.C. § 1920(1) & (4), but postage and the private service fee are not. Smith v. Tenet Healthsystem SL, Inc., 436 F.3d 879, 889 (8th Cir. 2006); Crues v. KFC Corp., 768 F.2d 230, 234 (8th Cir. 1985). The Court declines to award the unspecified mileage. $859.55 in costs are recoverable.
The Court appreciates counsel's self-scrutiny and resulting reductions. This is the drill for lawyers who bill clients. And the Court has benefited from the categorization of claimed fees. Counsel ask for specifics on what could be done better. See above. The Court adds one point. Counsel should strive for brevity and proportionality. This fee dispute, for example, did not need a five-page motion, a seventeen-page affidavit, a twenty-six-page brief, and a seven-page reply.
* * *
Plaintiffs' motion for costs and fees, Doc. 70, is mostly granted and partly denied. The Court awards a reasonable attorney's fee of $27,445.00 and recoverable costs of $859.55.
So Ordered.