Fish v. St. Cloud State University

• Decision Date: 09 July 2002
• Docket Number: No. 01-2926.,No. 01-2896.,01-2896.,01-2926.
• Citation: 295 F.3d 849
• Parties: Marjorie FISH, Kathleen Gill, Christine Jazwinski, Lora Robinson, and June Goemer on behalf of themselves and a class of similarly situated persons, Appellants/Cross-Appellees, v. ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY, Minnesota State University System a/k/a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities a/k/a MnSCU f/k/a MSUS, and the Inter-Faculty Organization, Cross-Appellants/Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

295 F.3d 849

Marjorie FISH, Kathleen Gill, Christine Jazwinski, Lora Robinson, and June Goemer on behalf of themselves and a class of similarly situated persons, Appellants/Cross-Appellees, v. ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY, Minnesota State University System a/k/a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities a/k/a MnSCU f/k/a MSUS, and the Inter-Faculty Organization, Cross-Appellants/Appellees.

No. 01-2896.

No. 01-2926.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: June 14, 2002.

Filed: July 9, 2002.

Edwin Lee Sisam, argued, Minneapolis, Minnesota, for appellant.

Gary R. Cunningham, Assistant Attorney General, argued, St. Paul, Minnesota, for appellee.

Before MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, FAGG, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

MURPHY, Circuit Judge.

The plaintiff class, women faculty members at St. Cloud State University, reached an agreement during 2001 with defendant Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and its member institution St. Cloud State (collectively St. Cloud State), settling their claims of gender discrimination and leaving unresolved only the issue of attorney fees. The district court¹ awarded the class $2,034,274 in fees and $207,872.36 in costs. The class appeals, arguing that the court abused its discretion in setting the hourly rates and in reducing the lodestar to reflect incomplete success. St. Cloud State cross appeals, arguing that the court should have also made deductions for duplicative and excessive billing by class counsel and for unsuccessful efforts in motion practice. We affirm.

In 1996 plaintiffs filed this action against St. Cloud State² alleging three counts of gender discrimination in compensation, promotion and tenure, and terms and conditions of employment. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. Under the settlement agreement, St. Cloud State committed to provide a total of $600,000 in back pay to class members who "alleged a discriminatory pay claim," as well as a lump sum payment of $60,000 to the named plaintiffs. St. Cloud State also agreed to prospective salary adjustments, to requirements for record keeping, reporting, and training, and to the promotion of one of the named plaintiffs. The other promotion claims of the class were dismissed without prejudice.

The class petitioned the district court for $3,799,763.90 in fees. The request was based on 8,541.15 hours of work by individual plaintiff attorneys whose proposed hourly rates ranged between $470 to $329, as well as on 789.20 hours by paralegals. The district court approved the number of hours submitted by the class, but it reduced the requested hourly rates and set them at $350 to $225. It then reduced the lodestar amount by 15% to reflect lack of complete success on all claims, and denied the class request for an enhancement. It awarded almost all of the costs requested, and no issue has been raised about them.

The court in its discretion may allow a party prevailing on a Title VII claim reasonable attorney fees. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k). Plaintiffs who obtain relief through settlement are considered prevailing parties for this purpose. Wray v. Clarke, 151 F.3d 807, 809 (8th Cir.1998). "[T]he fee applicant bears the burden of establishing entitlement to an award and documenting the appropriate hours expended and hourly rates." Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 437, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983). A district court's award of attorney fees is reviewed for abuse of discretion, Webner v. Titan Distrib., Inc., 267 F.3d 828, 838 (8th Cir. 2001), but its rulings on issues of law are reviewed de novo. Emery v. Hunt, 272 F.3d 1042, 1046 (8th Cir.2001).

The starting point in determining attorney fees is the lodestar, which is calculated by multiplying the number of hours reasonably expended by the reasonable hourly rates. Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433. The class argues that the district court abused its discretion in setting hourly rates. A reasonable hourly rate is usually the ordinary rate for similar work in the community where the case has been litigated. Emery, 272 F.3d at 1048. The parties presented two surveys of hourly rates, one reporting fees received by seven Twin Cities class action firms and the other reporting fees received by sixty-two firms doing a variety of work around the state. The court set individual hourly rates at the median of the class action survey and near the upper limit of the statewide survey, also taking into account the number of years an attorney had been admitted to practice.

The class contends that the district court was inconsistent in its treatment of the number of hours reasonably expended, that it should have used the top rate shown in the class action survey to reflect the skill and experience of counsel, and that it put too much emphasis on the...