French v. Corporate Receivables, Inc., 06-1533.

• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (1st Circuit)
• Writing for the Court: Howard
• Citation: 489 F.3d 402
• Parties: David FRENCH; Tammy French, Plaintiffs, Appellants, v. CORPORATE RECEIVABLES, INC.; Eric Turner, Defendants, Appellees.
• Docket Number: No. 06-1533.,06-1533.
• Decision Date: 07 June 2007

489 F.3d 402 David FRENCH; Tammy French, Plaintiffs, Appellants,
v.
CORPORATE RECEIVABLES, INC.; Eric Turner, Defendants, Appellees. No. 06-1533. United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit. Heard March 8, 2007. Decided June 7, 2007.

Jason David Fregeau, for appellants.

Adam J. Basch, with whom Bacon & Wilson, P.C., was on brief, for appellees.

Before BOUDIN, Chief Judge, CAMPBELL, Senior Circuit Judge, and HOWARD, Circuit Judge.

HOWARD, Circuit Judge.

David and Tammy French sued Corporate Receivables, Inc. and its employee, Eric Turner, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., and Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, challenging Corporate Receivables'

489 F.3d 403

and Turner's abusive collection practices in an effort to collect monies that David French owed on a motorcycle. Prior to trial, the defendants made two offers of judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 68, which the Frenches rejected. The first offer was for $2,500 and the second offer was for $3,900.

The Frenches' FDCPA claim was ultimately tried before a jury, and the district court decided the ch. 93A claim. The jury returned a verdict of $1,000 in statutory damages for David French and $0 for Tammy French. The court then concluded that the defendants had violated ch. 93A and awarded David French an additional $1,000 and Tammy French $25.¹

Subsequently, the Frenches moved for an award of attorney's fees of $20,660 and costs of $2,059.33 under the FDCPA's and ch. 93A's fee-shifting provisions. See 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)(3); Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, § 9. The defendants opposed the motion on the ground that the second Rule 68 offer of $3,900 exceeded the amount of the post-trial award and therefore cut-off the Frenches' entitlement to fees. See Marek v. Chesny, 473 U.S. 1, 105 S.Ct. 3012, 87 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985). In a written order, the district court declined to reduce the Frenches' fee request under Marek because it was not clear that the second Rule 68 offer was larger than the award plus the fees and costs that the Frenches had incurred up to the time of the offer. See Marryshow v. Flynn, 986 F.2d 689, 692 (4th Cir.1993) (concluding that for a Rule 68 offer to cut-off an entitlement to fees, the offer must be greater than the verdict plus reasonable fees and costs incurred when the offer was made). But the court nevertheless ordered a substantial reduction in the fee request to $2,500 because the Frenches obtained only "de minimis" success at trial.

The Frenches appeal this order. They argue that the award was inappropriately reduced in light of their "complete" success at trial in that David French obtained statutory damages under the FDCPA and ch. 93A.

A fee award will be upheld unless it constitutes a "manifest abuse of discretion." See Richardson v. Miller, 279 F.3d 1, 2-3 (1st Cir.2002). The trial court has "extremely broad" discretion in fashioning a fee award. Lipsett v. Blanco, 975 F.2d 934, 937 (1st Cir.1992). "Because this is so, and because the determination of the extent of a reasonable fee necessarily involves a series of judgment calls, an appellate court is far more likely to defer to the trial court in reviewing fee computations than in many other situations." Id.

The FDCPA provides that successful plaintiffs are entitled to actual damages, statutory damages of up to $1,000, and "the costs of the action, together with a reasonable...