Bujanowski v. Kocontes

Full title: EDWARD T. BUJANOWSKI, Plaintiff, v. LONNIE KOCONTES, Defendant

Court: United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Tampa Division

Date published: Jun 1, 2009

Case No.:8:08-cv-390-T-33EAJ (M.D. Fla. Jun. 1, 2009)

Opinion

Case No.:8:08-cv-390-T-33EAJ.

June 1, 2009

ORDER

VIRGINIA COVINGTON, District Judge

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff's Motion Requesting Court to Direct Clerk to Enter Judgment (the "Motion," Doc. 70). The Motion is unopposed. On May 1, 2009, the Court entered an Order (the "Award Order," Doc. 68) accepting and adopting in part, Magistrate Jenkins' Report and Recommendation on Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney's Fees and Costs (Doc. 56). In the Order, the Court awards Plaintiff $22,934.80 in attorney's fees and $343.00 in costs.

Plaintiff now asks the Court to instruct the Clerk to enter judgment. Plaintiff informs the Court that entering judgment is proper here because the Court has found that Plaintiff is entitled to a sum certain for attorney's fees and costs.

This case was closed on November 10, 2008, following its remand to the Sixth Judicial Circuit, in and for Pinellas County, Florida (Doc. 55). When ordering remand, the Court found that the case's removal to Federal Court was objectively unwarranted and that Plaintiff was entitled to the attorney's fees and costs he incurred in contesting removal and pursuing remand. The Court retained jurisdiction of this case only to determine attorney's fees and costs. In the Award Order, the Court found that Plaintiff was entitled to attorney's fees and costs totaling $23,277.80 ($22,934.80 in attorney's fees and $343 in costs).

Under Fed.R.Civ.Pro. 58, every judgment and amended judgment must be set out in a separate document, but a separate documentis not required for, among other things, an order disposing of a motion for attorney's fees under Fed.R.Civ.Pro. 54(d)(2). Thus, in this case, the Clerk does not need direction from the Court to enter judgment. However, because the Motion is unopposed, the Court will direct the Clerk to enter judgment for Plaintiff by separate docket entry in the amounts specified above.

Accordingly, it is now

ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that:

(1) The Motion Requesting Court to Direct Clerk to Enter Judgment (Doc. 70) is GRANTED.

(2) The Clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment immediately for Plaintiff by separate docket entry in the amounts specified above.

DONE and ORDERED from Chambers in Tampa, Florida.