Lalla v. City of New Orleans, CIV.A. 96-2640.
| Decision Date | 04 April 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 96-2658.,No. 98-3591.,No. CIV.A. 96-2640.,CIV.A. 96-2640.,96-2658.,98-3591. |
| Citation | 161 F.Supp.2d 686 |
| Parties | Paul J. LALLA, et al., v. CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, et al. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana |
Clement Peter Donelon, Clement P. Donelon, Attorney at Law, Roland Vaughn Cimini, Cimini & Associates, Metaire, LA, for Paul J. Lalla.
Mavis Slattery Early, Avis Marie Russell, Annabelle Hoppe Walker, George C. Wallace, Jr., Franz L. Zibilich, Greta L. Wilson, Arlinda Pierce Westbrook, City Attorney's Office, City Hall, New Orleans, LA, for City of New Orleans, Marc H. Morial, Sidney J. Barthelemy, William J. McCrossen, and Warren E. McDaniels.
Ralph D. Dwyer, Jr., Attorney at Law, Gilbert R. Buras, Jr., Attorney at Law, New Orleans, LA, for J. Michael Doyle, Jr.
ORDER AND REASONS
Plaintiffs Paul J. Lalla, Donald Courtade, Jr., David A. Castanedo, Richard L. Collignon, Daniel J. Hampton, Glynn R. Vazquez, Kenneth P. Rauch, Gary S. Hargis, Jr., John J. Segretto, Jr., and Sean T. McCormick, and Donald Thezan ("the Lalla plaintiffs") have filed a motion under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 and under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d)(1) and (2) for an award of attorney's fees and costs against the defendant City of New Orleans ("the City") as prevailing parties in these three consolidated actions. The Lalla plaintiffs, eleven white males who applied to the City for the position of Fire Recruit, alleged in their complaint that the defendant violated their civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by using race as a factor in hiring Fire Recruits and by using a racial quota in the hiring process.1 The Lalla plaintiffs and the City filed cross motions for summary judgment on the issue of whether the City's Fire Recruit hiring practices constituted a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. By ruling entered on March 15, 1999 (Rec. Doc. No. 172), this Court concluded, based upon the evidence presented on summary judgment, that the City violated the equal protection rights of the plaintiffs under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution by enacting and enforcing the remedial hiring program in effect for Fire Recruits which used race as a factor in its hiring decisions and instituted a racial quota system. By order entered on January 6, 2000, this Court granted partial summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs added to the suit after the March 15, 1999 ruling, finding that the previous ruling on liability applied equally to their claims. The Court cautioned, however, that "[e]ach individual plaintiff must still prove at trial that, but for his race, he would have been hired, or hired sooner, that the use of race as a factor in his hiring caused him damages, and what damages, if any he has sustained as a result of the City's use of race in its hiring decisions." Rec. Doc. No. 262, n. 3, p. 6.
On November 2, 2000, after an intensive settlement conference with the Magistrate Judge, all eleven plaintiffs and the City reached a settlement agreement in which the City agreed to pay the plaintiffs the sum of $ 499,999.99, exclusive of the plaintiffs' claim for attorney's fees and costs under 42 U.S.C. § 1988. Subsequently, the releases were prepared and signed by, and the settlement funds delivered to, all eleven Lalla plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs filed an initial motion for attorney's fees following the settlement, a second supplemental motion seeking fees incurred after the date of the settlement and up to oral argument on their motion for attorney's fees and costs, and a third supplemental motion for attorney's fees and costs for services rendered and costs incurred to the date of the filing of the third supplemental motion. In the plaintiffs' initial motion for attorney's fees and costs under 42 U.S.C. § 1988, plaintiffs sought the lodestar amount of $ 184,630.00 in attorney's fees for the efforts of attorney Clement Donelon, $ 123,937.50 for the efforts of attorney R. Vaughn Cimini, a 33 % enhancement of the lodestar based upon the Johnson factors, $ 16,875 for the services of paralegals/secretaries, and $ 21,097.49 in litigation costs, which include deposition fees, other transcripts, expert fees, photocopying, court costs, witness fees, service fees, long distance charges, parking fees, and legal research costs.
Plaintiffs filed second and third supplemental requests for attorneys' fees for hours expended subsequent to the initial petition, and then sent a letter correcting certain errors in their requests. They modified their request for an enhancement, reducing their request from a 33% multiplier to a 25% multiplier due to the results obtained and the difficulty of the issues, and additionally, or alternatively, they seek interest for delay in payment. Plaintiffs seek an hourly rate of $ 185 per hour for Mr. Donelon's services, $ 150 per hour for Mr. Cimini's services, and $ 25 per hour for paralegal/secretarial services. Plaintiffs request that the following amounts be awarded to them as prevailing plaintiffs under 42 U.S.C. § 1988, with enhancement of 25% and/or interest of 10% accruing 60 days after services were rendered:
As reflected above, the lodestar amount requested by Donelon is $ 204,471.25 for 1,105.25 hours at $ 185 per hour. The lodestar amount requested by Cimini is $ 130,762.50 for 871.75 hours at $ 150 per hour. The combined lodestar amount for both attorneys is $ 334,563.13, and with a 25% enhancement of $ 83,640.78, the total attorney's fee sought is $ 418,203.91, excluding costs and paralegal/secretaries fees. Shortly before oral argument, plaintiffs submitted the expert report of a Certified Public Accountant, who calculated 10% simple interest on $ 363,0722 on the basis that payment was due when services were rendered or costs incurred, and 10% interest accrued on any balance unpaid after sixty days. Under this scenario, plaintiffs seek $ 363,072 for attorneys fees and costs, 10% simple interest of $ 80,392, for a total fee of $ 443,464, without enhancement.
Both plaintiffs' attorneys submitted affidavits outlining their relevant legal experience, knowledge of civil rights and employment discrimination law, and practice in federal court and in the civil rights and employment discrimination area. The affidavits noted their respective contributions to the successful pursuit of this case. In addition, the City deposed both Donelon and Cimini on the issues relevant to the instant motion.
The lead case of these three consolidated actions, 96-2640, was filed by a single plaintiff, Paul Lalla, on August 9, 1996. The second action, 96-2658, was filed by nine plaintiffs, Donald J. Courtade, Jr., David A. Castanedo, Richard L. Collignon, Daniel J. Hampton, Glynn R. Vazquez, Kenneth P. Rauch, Gary S. Hargis, Jr., John J. Segretto, Jr., and Sean T. McCormick, on August 13, 1996, and was consolidated with the lead case on October 1, 1996. The third action, 98-3591, was filed by a single plaintiff, David D. Thezan, on December 4, 1998, and was consolidated with the lead case on March 4, 1999. Settlement was reached on the claims of all eleven plaintiffs, excluding attorney's fees and costs, on Friday, November 2, 2000. Jury trial in the matter was scheduled on November 6, 2000. These eleven plaintiffs filed claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against seven defendants, including the City of New Orleans, J. Michael Doyle, Jr., individually and in his capacity as Director of Personnel for the New Orleans Department of City Civil Services, Marc H. Morial, in his capacity as Mayor of the City of New Orleans, Sidney J. Barthelemy, in his capacity as the Mayor of the City of New Orleans, William J. McCrossen, in his capacity as former Superintendent of the City of New Orleans Fire Department, Warren E. McDaniels, in his capacity as the Superintendent of the New Orleans Fire Department, and New Orleans Firefighters Association Local No. 632. Ultimately, plaintiffs prevailed in their claims against a single defendant, the City, with eleven plaintiffs sharing the settlement sum of $ 499,999.99. Morial, Barthelemy, McCrossen, and McDaniels all were granted summary judgment on plaintiffs' claims.
In conducting discovery on this claim, plaintiffs' counsel took nine depositions3 and prepared and served 11 sets of interrogatories, 10 Requests for Production, and 6 Requests for Admission.4 Plaintiffs prepared proposed jury interrogatories and jury instructions for submission to the court on two occasions.5 Much of the effort expended on this case was concentrated on researching and preparing motions for summary judgment on the liability issues in the case, preparing statistical analyses regarding if and when the plaintiffs would have been hired had race not been a factor in the City's hiring decisions, and interviewing the 11 plaintiffs concerning their financial records, such as income tax returns, W-2 forms, and check stubs, for purposes of establishing damages.
Plaintiffs also retained two expert witnesses, an industrial psychologist and a certified public...
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