Batista-Rivera v. Gonzalez

• Decision Date: 28 November 2007
• Docket Number: Civil No. 02-2874(GAG/MEL).
• Parties: Gilberto BATISTA-RIVERA, Plaintiff v. Gladys GONZÁLEZ, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

525 F.Supp.2d 255

Gilberto BATISTA-RIVERA, Plaintiff v. Gladys GONZÁLEZ, et al., Defendants.

Civil No. 02-2874(GAG/MEL).

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

November 28, 2007.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Francisco R. Gonzalez-Colon, Francisco J. Gonzalez-Magaz, F. R. Gonzalez Law Office, San Juan, PR, for Plaintiff.

Iris Alicia Martinez-Juarbe, Valerie Maldonado-Rivera, Department of Justice, Javier I. Arbona, Quinones, Sanchez & Guzman, PSC, Felix M. Roman-Carrasquillo, San. Juan, PR, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

MARCOS E. LOPEZ, United States Magistrate Judge.

Before the court is plaintiff's "Petition for an Award of Attorney's Fees and Memorandum in Support Thereof', as well as the opposition filed by co-defendant Rafael Martínez. Docket Nos. 125 and 128. For the following reasons the Court GRANTS the petition for attorney's fees, but reduces the amount requested.

I. Background

On December 31, 2002, plaintiff Gilberto Batista-Rivera ("Batista") filed this civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ("Section 1983") against Gladys Conzález, Rafael Martínez and Esteban Mujica, claiming that said co-defendants subjected him to adverse personnel actions in his employment because of his political affiliation. Docket No. 1.¹ The matter culminated in a five-day jury trial. Docket Nos. 111-16.

At the close of plaintiffs case-in-chief, defendants moved for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Federal Rule 50(a) of Civil Procedure. Docket No. 112. The court granted said motion as to co-defendant Gladys González, but held it in abeyance as to co-defendant Rafael Martínez. Docket Nos. 113, 114. At the close of all the evidence, co-defendant Rafael Martínez again moved for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50(a), but the court held it in abeyance again. Docket No. 115. On August 3, 2007, the jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff for $2,400.00 for compensatory and economic damages. Subsequently, the court denied co-defendant Rafael Martínez's Rule 50(a) motion held in abeyance. Docket No. 116.

Plaintiff now seeks attorney's fees in the amount of $52,262.50. Docket No. 125. On October 2, 2007, co-defendant Rafael Martínez opposed plaintiffs request on several grounds. He essentially alleges that the amount of damages awarded by the jury should determine the amount of attorney's fees granted. In particular, he asserts that insofar Batista only achieved partial or limited success and insofar the amount awarded by the jury as compensation for plaintiffs damages is only "nominal", the attorney's fees requested by plaintiff should be reduced or not awarded at all. Furthermore, co-defendant Rafael Martínez claims that no special skills were involved in the case at bar and that the amount of work as reported in the time sheets submitted by plaintiffs attorneys is excessive. Docket No. 128. Plaintiff replied on October 4, 2007. Docket No. 129.

Upon reviewing the parties' motions, the court GRANTS plaintiffs motion and awards attorney's fees as follows.

II. Discussion

A. Attorney Fees

"Congress enacted the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 1988 [`Section 1988'], authorizing the district courts to award a reasonable attorney's fee to prevailing parties in civil rights litigation." Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 429, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983). "The purpose of § 1988 is to ensure effective access to the judicial process' for persons with civil rights grievances." Id. Therefore, in any action enforcing the provisions of Section 1983, such as the instant one, attorney's fees awards are governed by Section 1988.²

Section 1988(b) states that "the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs." 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b), Notwithstanding the discretionary language of the statute, "[i]n civil rights cases, fee-shifting in favor of a prevailing plaintiff is the rule, whereas fee-shifting in favor of a prevailing defendant is the exception." Casa Marie Hogar Geriátrico, v, Rivera-Santos, 38 F.3d 615, 618 (1st Cir. 1994). Both the legislative history and case law since the enactment of Section 1988 indicate that fees should be awarded to successful plaintiffs absent unusual circumstances. Williams v. Hanover Housing Authority, 113 F.3d 1294, 1300 (1st Cfr.1997) (citations omitted).

In adjudicating a request for attorney's fees, the court needs to determine whether: (1) a party is in fact a "prevailing party"; (2) the compensation sought is reasonable (i.e. calculation of the lodestar); and (3) there are any additional but exceptional considerations that may require to adjust upward or downward. See Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433-34, 103 S.Ct. 1933. "A plaintiff is a prevailing party if he has succeeded on `any significant issue in litigation which achieve[d] some of the benefit the parties sought in bringing suit.'" Rosario-Urdaz v. Rivera-Hernández, 451 F.Supp.2d 305, 308 (D.P.R.2006)(citing Texas State. Teachers Assoc. v. Garland Indep. School District, 489 U.S. 782, 791-92, 109 S.Ct. 1486, 103 L.Ed.2d 866 (1989)). Once plaintiff comes across this threshold, the district court must then determine what fee is reasonable. See Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933.

To determine the amount of attorney's fees courts in this Circuit must apply the "lodestar" approach which requires that the Court calculate first the prevailing hourly rate, and second, the time spent performing the various legal tasks, subtracting those which are excessive, duplicative, or unnecessary. Tejackt-Batista v. Fuentes-Agostini, 263 F.Supp.2d 321, 326-27 (D.P.R.2003); see also Gay Officers Action League v. Puerto Rico, 247 F.3d 288, 295 (1st Cfr.2001); Bogan v. City of Boston, 489 F.3d 417, 426-27 (1st Cir.2007). A court usually should begin with the attorneys' contemporaneous billing records. Gay Officers Action League, 247 F.3d at 295. The court should then subtract hours that are duplicative, unproductive or excessive and multiply the reasonable hours billed by the prevailing attorney rate in the community. Id.; see also Lipsett v. Blanco, 975 F,2d 934, 937 (1st Cir.1992).

Nevertheless, "[t]he product of reasonable hours times a reasonable rate does not end the inquiry: There remain other considerations that may lead the district court to adjust the fee upward or downward ..." Hensley, 461 U.S. at 434, 103 S.Ct. 1933. The court may adjust the award further for several reasons, such as: (1) the time and labor required; (2) the novelty and difficulty of the questions; (3) the skill requisite to perform the legal services properly; (4) the preclusion of other employment by the attorney(s) due to acceptance of the case; (5) the customary fee; (6) the nature of the fee (fixed or contingent); (7) the time limitations imposed by the client or the circumstances; (8) the amount involved and the results obtained; (9) the experience, reputation, and ability of the attorney(s); (10) the "undesirability" of the ease; (11) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client; and (12) the size of awards in similar cases. See Blanchard v. Bergeron, 489 U.S. 87, 92 n. 5, 109 S.Ct. 939, 103 L.Ed.2d 67 (citing Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc., 488 F.2d 714, 717-719 (5th Cir.1974)); see also Hensley, 461 U.S. at 434 n. 9, 103. S.Ct. 1933, Coutin v. Young & Rubicam Puerto Rico, Inc., 124 F.3d 331, 337 n. 3 (1st Cir.1997).

Finally, in order to receive the proper award of attorney fees, a prevailing party must submit with its motion evidence to support the number of hours and rates sought, and show that the rates being sought are comparable to those in the community. See Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933.

1. Co-defendant Rafael Maxtinez's arguments in opposition to the request for attorney's fees.

In his opposition to plaintiffs request for attorney's fees, co-defendant Rafael Martínez asserts that the amount of attorney's fees sought by plaintiff should be determined by and be proportional to the amount of damages awarded by the jury. According to Martínez, since Batista only achieved partial or limited success and the jury only awarded him "nominal damages", the attorney's fees requested by plaintiff should be reduced or not awarded at all. Martínez relies on City of Riverside v. Rivera, 477 US. 561, 106 S.Ct. 2686, 91 L.Ed.2d 466 (1986) and Farrar v. Hobby, 506 U.S. 103, 113 S.Ct. 566, 121, L.Ed.2d 494 (1992), to support his contentions. Docket. No. 128. Said reliance is misplaced.

Riverside is the leading case on the issue of whether the attorney's fees should be proportional to the damages recovered by a plaintiff. The plaintiffs in Riverside were awarded $33,350 in damages, where the jury found violations of Section 1983, instances of false arrest and imprisonment, and neglect. They sought attorney's fees under Section 1988, and were awarded $245,456.25 by the district court. Despite the disparity, the Supreme Court affirmed the award of attorney's fees in a plurality opinion and rejected a rule of proportionality for attorney's fees under Section 1988. First, the Court noted that:

The amount of damages a plaintiff recovers is certainly relevant to the amount of attorney's fees to be awarded under [Section 1988]. It is, however, only one of many factors that a court should consider in calculating an award of attorney's fees. We reject the proposition that fee awards under [Section 1988] should necessarily be proportionate to the amount of damages a civil rights plaintiff actually recovers.

Riverside, 477 U.S. at 574, 106 S.Ct. 2686 (citation omitted).³ Then, the Court expressed that:

A rule that limits attorney's, fees in civil rights cases to a proportion of the damages awarded would seriously undermine Congress' purpose in enacting § 1988. Congress enacted [Section 1988] specifically because it found that the private market for legal services failed to provide many...