Feher v. Department of Labor and Indus. Relations

• Decision Date: 17 March 1983
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 78-0437.
• Citation: 561 F. Supp. 757
• Parties: Lynne FEHER, Plaintiff, v. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS; Joshua Agsalud, in his official capacity as Director of Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Yukio Kagawa, individually and in his official capacity as administrator of the Enforcement Division of Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Alan Asao, individually and in his official capacity as supervisor of the Wage and Hour Section of the Enforcement Division of Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Paul Condry, individually and in his official capacity as supervisor of Child Labor and Wage Claims Section of the Enforcement Division of Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; and Beatrice Suemori, individually and in her official capacity as personnel officer of Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Hawaii

561 F. Supp. 757

Lynne FEHER, Plaintiff, v. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS; Joshua Agsalud, in his official capacity as Director of Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Yukio Kagawa, individually and in his official capacity as administrator of the Enforcement Division of Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Alan Asao, individually and in his official capacity as supervisor of the Wage and Hour Section of the Enforcement Division of Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Paul Condry, individually and in his official capacity as supervisor of Child Labor and Wage Claims Section of the Enforcement Division of Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; and Beatrice Suemori, individually and in her official capacity as personnel officer of Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Defendants.

Civ. No. 78-0437.

United States District Court, D. Hawaii.

March 17, 1983.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Shelby Anne Floyd, Paul, Johnson & Alston, Honolulu, Hawaii, for plaintiff.

Edward Correa, Philip S. Uesato, Mario R. Ramil, Barbara Ann Motoyama, Deputy Attys. Gen., Dept. of Labor & Indus. Rel., Honolulu, Hawaii, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OF OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFF'S APPLICATION FOR INTERIM ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS

FONG, District Judge.

Factual Background

This Memorandum of Opinion and Order is addressed to the question of the appropriate amount of attorneys' fees and costs to be awarded to the law firm of Paul, Johnson and Alston, the private attorneys representing a caucasian female in an employment discrimination suit, brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, §§ 701 et seq., Pub.L. No. 88-352, 78 Stat. 255 (1964), as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq. (1976) (codified at 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 2000e et seq.) (1981) hereinafter cited as "Title VII" against the State of Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations hereinafter cited as "DLIR" for discriminatory employment practices in favor of Japanese-American males.

The issues of liability and damages were bifurcated for trial, and the liability issues have been fully tried by the Court. All other claims were voluntarily dismissed August 31, 1981.

In its Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law filed February 8, 1982, the Court Chief Judge Harry E. Claiborne, District of Nevada found that DLIR violated Title VII by discriminating against plaintiff on the basis of her sex and race. The Court granted plaintiff's request for retroactive promotion (including backpay and all employee benefits) as though she had been promoted to the position of Labor Law Enforcement Specialist I in November, 1975. The parties have submitted affidavits, exhibits and memoranda on plaintiff's application for interim attorneys' fees and costs and that issue is now before the Court for decision.

STATUTORY SCHEME

It has been firmly established that a prevailing plaintiff in a Title VII civil rights action may be awarded attorneys' fees. Christiansburg Garment Co. v. E.E. O.C., 434 U.S. 412, 98 S.Ct. 694, 54 L.Ed.2d 648 (1978); Sotomura v. County of Hawaii, 679 F.2d 152 (9th Cir.1982); Department of Ed. v. Valenzuela, 524 F.Supp. 261 (D.Haw. 1981). Title VII allows a prevailing party to receive from the loser a reasonable attorney's fee in addition to other relief. The fee provision of Title VII provides:

In any action or proceeding under Title VII the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other than the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the United States, a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs, and the Commission and the United States shall be liable for costs the same as a private person.

42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k) (1976).

There are two strong equitable reasons favoring an attorney's fee award to a prevailing Title VII plaintiff. The first is because plaintiff is regarded as "a private attorney general vindicating a policy that Congress considered of the highest priority," Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, 390 U.S. 400, 402, 88 S.Ct. 964, 966, 19 L.Ed.2d 1263 (1968), and when a district court awards counsel fees to a prevailing plaintiff, it is awarding them against a violator of federal law. Christiansburg Garment Co. v. E.E.O.C., 434 U.S. 412, 413, 98 S.Ct. 694, 696, 54 L.Ed.2d 649 (1979). See also Northcross v. Board of Education, 611 F.2d 624 (6th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 447 U.S. 911, 100 S.Ct. 3000, 64 L.Ed.2d 862 (1980).

A second purpose for the awarding of fees is to deter racial discrimination in any form or manner, e.g., Rodriguez v. Taylor, 569 F.2d 1231, 1245 (3d Cir.1977), cert. denied, 436 U.S. 913, 98 S.Ct. 2254, 56 L.Ed.2d 414 (1978); Dennis v. Chang, 611 F.2d 1302, 1306 (9th Cir.1980); Palmigiano v. Garrahy, 616 F.2d 598, 600 (1st Cir.1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 839, 101 S.Ct. 115, 66 L.Ed.2d 45 (1980), and thereby obviate litigation.

LEGISLATIVE GUIDELINES

The Court's discretion in granting of attorneys' fees is further supported by a study of the legislative history of Title VII itself. A major purpose of Title VII was to aid and to encourage plaintiffs with meritorious claims by providing, in effect, free legal services. Carey v. New York Gaslight Club, Inc., 598 F.2d 1253 (2d Cir.1979), aff'd, 447 U.S. 54, 60, 100 S.Ct. 2024, 2030, 64 L.Ed.2d 723 (1980).

Although Title VII provides for awards of counsel fees at the court's discretion, the policy developed by the Supreme Court favors awards of fees to successful plaintiffs unless there are special circumstances which would render such an award unjust. See Christianburg Garment Co. v. E.E.O.C., 434 U.S. 410, 416-17, 98 S.Ct. 694, 700-701, 54 L.Ed.2d 648 (1979). See also S.Rep. No. 94-1011, 94th Cong., 2nd Session 2-5, reprinted in 1976 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News, 5908, 5910-13.

This approach stems from a recognition that it is in the public interest to aid Title VII enforcement through private actions, and a liberal reading of the attorney's fees provision encourages this effort. (Citations omitted.)

Prevailing parties are to be compensated for all time "reasonably" spent, at rates comparable to those paid for similarly complex litigation. This Court is guided by S.Rep. No. 94-1011, which indicates that:

It is intended that the amount of fees awarded under Title VII be governed by the same standards which prevail in other types of equally complex federal litigation such as antitrust cases and not be reduced because the rights involved may be nonpecuniary in nature. The appropriate standards, see Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, 488 F.2d 714 (5th Cir. 1974) are correctly applied in such cases as Stanford Daily v. Zurcher, 64 F.R.D. 680 (N.D.Cal.1974); Davis v. County of Los Angeles, 8 E.P.D. ¶ 9444 (C.D.Cal. 1974); and Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of Education, 66 F.R.D. 483 (W.D.N.C.1975). These cases have resulted in fees which are adequate to attract competent counsel, but which do not produce windfalls to attorneys. In computing the fee, counsel for prevailing parties should be paid, as is traditional, with attorneys compensated by a fee-paying client, for all time reasonably expended on a matter.

S.Rep. 94-1011, supra p. 5 at 5913.

In 1976, Congress enacted the Civil Rights Attorneys' Fees Awards Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 1988 to ensure that attorneys litigating for these private "attorneys general" receive the benefits of this remedial policy towards attorneys fees.¹ Mid-Hudson Legal Services, Inc. v. G & U, Inc., 578 F.2d 34 (2d Cir.1978) (citing S.Rep. No. 94-1011, supra p. 5, at 5908, 5910-12). The Senate Report incorporated the precedential holding of Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, 390 U.S. 400, 88 S.Ct. 964, 19 L.Ed.2d 1263 (1968) (per curiam) (counsel fees awarded to encourage plaintiffs to seek judicial relief). See also Aho v. Clark, 608 F.2d 365, 367 (9th Cir.1979).

Another purpose of Title VII was to ensure and encourage individual plaintiffs to act as private "attorneys general" in order to assert and vindicate their civil rights in the federal courts. Northcross v. Board of Education, 611 F.2d 624 (6th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 447 U.S. 911, 100 S.Ct. 3000, 64 L.Ed.2d 862 (1980).

DISTRICT COURT'S DISCRETION

Before turning to issues particular to the instant case, it is appropriate to set out the Court's generalized attitude and "discretion" towards the award of attorneys' fees in Title VII cases. Title VII makes the award of attorney's fees a question of discretion for the Court, reversible only for an abuse of discretion. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k) (1976).

The discretion of a district court in awarding fees is limited and pertains primarily to the amount to be awarded. Hinkle v. Christensen, 548 F.Supp. 630 (D.S. D.1982). A district judge must explain the findings and reasons upon which the award is based, including an indication of how each of the twelve factors in Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc., 488 F.2d 714 (5th Cir.1974) affected his decision. Kerr v. Screen Extras Guild, Inc., 526 F.2d 67 (9th Cir.1975), cert. denied sub. nom. Perkins v. Screen Extras Guild, Inc., 425 U.S. 951, 96 S.Ct. 1726, 48 L.Ed.2d 195 (1976). See, e.g., Harmon v. San Diego County, 664 F.2d 770, 772 (9th Cir.1981) (Kerr recital insufficient without analysis).

The Ninth Circuit has clearly adopted the Johnson guidelines as appropriate factors to be considered in the balancing process required in a determination of attorneys' fees. The failure to consider the twelve Johnson factors constitutes an abuse of discretion. Metcalf v. Borba, 681 F.2d 1183 (9th Cir.1982); Nat. Organization for Women v. Bank of California, 680 F.2d 1291 (9th Cir.1982); Riveria v. City of Riverside, 679 F.2d 795 (9th Cir.1982); Thornberry v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 676 F.2d 1240 (9th Cir.1982). Many other circuits have applied the Johnson factors in recent cases, and those factors remain central to any fee award.

At the same time, however, "simply to articulate those twelve factors does not conjure up a...