Lambert v. Fulton County, Ga

• Decision Date: 27 October 2000
• Docket Number: No. 1:97-CV-1243-TWT.,1:97-CV-1243-TWT.
• Citation: 151 F.Supp.2d 1364
• Parties: Chester L. LAMBERT, III; William E. Mowrey; and James M. Heath, Plaintiffs, v. FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia

151 F.Supp.2d 1364

Chester L. LAMBERT, III; William E. Mowrey; and James M. Heath, Plaintiffs, v. FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, et al., Defendants.

No. 1:97-CV-1243-TWT.

United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division.

October 27, 2000.

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COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Edward D. Buckley, III, Francis C. Schenck, Greene Buckley Jones & McQueen, Atlanta, GA, for Chester L. Lambert, III, William E. Mowrey, James M. Heath, plaintiffs.

Edward Katze, Timothy L. Williams, Constangy Brooks & Smith, Atlanta, GA, R. David Ware, Ware & Leonard, Atlanta, GA, for Fulton County, Georgia, Robert J. Regus, Michael G. Cooper, defendants.

ORDER

THRASH, District Judge.

This is an employment discrimination case. The case was tried before a jury for two weeks. On May 5, 2000, the jury returned a verdict for Plaintiffs. The case presently is before the Court on Plaintiffs' Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Costs [Doc. 143] and Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to File Supplemental Affidavit and Itemization of Attorneys' Fees [Doc. 171]. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to File Supplemental Affidavit and Itemization of Attorneys' Fees is granted and Plaintiffs' Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Costs is granted in the amount of $425,367.88.

I. DISCUSSION

A. REASONABLE AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES

The award of attorneys' fees in this action is governed by the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 1988, as amended, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k). Section 1988 provides as follows:

In any action or proceeding to enforce a provision of section 1981, 1981a, 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1986 of this title, title IX of Public Law 92-318 [20 U.S.C.A § 1681 et seq.], the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 [42 U.S.C. § 2000bb et seq.], title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.], or section 13981 of this title, 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). Section 2000e-5(k) similarly provides,

In any action or proceeding under this subchapter the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other than the Commission or the United States, a reasonable attorney's fee (including expert fees) 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). These statutes are interpreted broadly since they are remedial in nature and facilitate private enforcement of civil rights. Williams v. City of Fairburn, 702 F.2d 973, 976 (11th Cir. 1983). Although awarding attorneys' fees is within the discretion of the trial court, such discretion is a narrow one in that attorneys' fees should be denied only when special circumstances would render an award unjust, Solomon v. City of Gainesville, 796 F.2d 1464, 1466 (11th Cir.1986), or the statute is being subverted into a ruse for providing "windfalls" to attorneys. Dowdell v. City of Apopka, 698 F.2d 1181, 1192 (11th Cir.1983). Importantly, one need not succeed on all claims in order to obtain attorneys' fees. Id. With these general principles in mind, the Court now turns to the particulars of Plaintiffs' request for attorneys' fees and Defendants' contentions as to why the requested fees should not be fully awarded.

Plaintiffs seek a total attorneys' fee award of $425,367.88. This total requested amount represents $412,222.75 for 2,299.55 hours of work and $13,145.13 in expenses. Defendants respond that this Court should reduce Plaintiff's request for attorneys' fees between $12,653.20 and $33,479.50 on grounds that time Plaintiffs' counsel spent on the appeal to the Fulton County Personnel Board is noncompensable. Defendants also challenge the entire $13,145.13 in expenses that Plaintiffs seek to recover. Otherwise, Defendants do not challenge the attorneys' fees award that Plaintiffs now request.¹

In Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433-37, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983), and Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 896-97, 104 S.Ct. 1541, 79 L.Ed.2d 891 (1984), the United States Supreme Court established the framework and methodology for calculating the amount of a reasonable attorneys' fee award to a prevailing party pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988. The starting point for calculating reasonable attorneys' fees is "the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate" for the attorneys' services. Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933; Blum, 465 U.S. at 897, 104 S.Ct. 1541; accord ACLU of Ga. v. Barnes, 168 F.3d 423, 427 (11th Cir.1999). The product of these two numbers is commonly termed the base figure, or the "lodestar." Pennsylvania v. Delaware Valley Citizens' Council, 478 U.S. 546, 563, 106 S.Ct. 3088, 92 L.Ed.2d 439 (1986). After calculating the lodestar, the court may within its discretion adjust the amount upwards or downwards based on a number of factors, such as the quality of the results obtained and the legal representation provided. Blum, 465 U.S. at 897, 104 S.Ct. 1541; Duckworth v. Whisenant, 97 F.3d 1393, 1396 (11th Cir.1996).

The fee applicant is the party that "bears the burden of establishing entitlement and documenting the appropriate hours and hourly rates." Barnes, 168 F.3d at 427 (quoting Norman v. Housing Auth. of Montgomery, 836 F.2d 1292, 1304 (11th Cir.1988)); accord Coastal Fuels Mktg., Inc. v. Florida Express Shipping Co., 207 F.3d 1247, 1252 (11th Cir.2000). That burden includes

supplying the court with specific and detailed evidence from which the court can determine the reasonable hourly rate. Further, fee counsel should have maintained records to show the time spent on the different claims, and the general subject matter of the time expenditures ought to be set out with sufficient particularity so that the district court can assess the time claimed for each activity .... A well-prepared fee petition also would include a summary, grouping the time entries by the nature of the activity or stage of the case.

Barnes, 168 F.3d at 427. (citations omitted). These obligations of the fee applicant are especially important in cases where the applicant has only partially succeeded in the suit. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 437, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983).

Similarly, those parties opposing fee applications also have obligations. Their objections and proof concerning hours they want excluded must be specific and "reasonably precise." Id. at 428, 103 S.Ct. 1933. When the parties fulfill their respective obligations, this assists the court in fulfilling its duty to render an order that articulates both its decisions and reasons for the decisions, thus allowing for meaningful appellate review. Id. at 428-29, 103 S.Ct. 1933; see also Coastal Fuels Mktg., Inc. v. Florida Express Shipping Co., 207 F.3d 1247, 1252 (11th Cir. 2000) ("[W]e have said that a court's order on attorneys' fees must allow meaningful appellate review."); NAACP v. City of Evergreen, 812 F.2d 1332, 1335 (11th Cir. 1987) ("A prerequisite for our review of an attorney's fee award is that the district court's opinion must have explained the reasons for the award with `sufficient clarity to enable an appellate court to intelligently review the award.'").

1. THE "LODESTAR"

a. REASONABLE HOURS

"[A]ll reasonable expenses and hours incurred in case preparation, during the course of litigation, or as an aspect of settlement of the case may be taxed as costs under § 1988," Barnes, 168 F.3d at 427 (11th Cir.1999) (quoting Dowdell v. City of Apopka, 698 F.2d 1181, 1192 (11th Cir.1983)), but "[c]ounsel for the prevailing party should make a good faith effort to exclude from a fee request hours that are excessive, redundant, or otherwise unnecessary" because, for example, the case is overstaffed. Hensley, 461 U.S. at 434, 103 S.Ct. 1933. Work performed by multiple attorneys, however, is not subject to reduction where the attorneys were not unreasonably doing the same work. Jones v. Central Soya Co., 748 F.2d 586, 594 (11th Cir.1984); Johnson v. University College, 706 F.2d 1205, 1208 (11th Cir.1983). As to the work performed, compensable activities include pre-litigation services in preparation of filing the lawsuit, background research and reading in complex cases, productive attorney discussions and strategy sessions, negotiations, routine activities such as making telephone calls and reading mail related to the case, monitoring and enforcing the favorable judgment, and even preparing and litigating the request for attorneys' fees. See City of Riverside v. Rivera, 477 U.S. 561, 573 n. 6, 106 S.Ct. 2686, 91 L.Ed.2d 466 (1986) (allowing compensation for productive attorney discussions and strategy conferences); Webb v. Board of Ed., 471 U.S. 234, 243, 105 S.Ct. 1923, 85 L.Ed.2d 233 (1985) (allowing compensation for pre-litigation services in preparation of suit); Cruz v. Hauck, 762 F.2d 1230, 1233-34 (5th Cir.1985) (allowing compensation for preparing and litigating fee request); Adams v. Mathis, 752 F.2d 553, 554 (11th Cir.1985) (holding that measures to enforce judgment are compensable); New York State Assoc. for Retarded Children v. Carey, 711 F.2d 1136, 1146 & n. 5 (2d Cir.1983) (allowing compensation for background research and reading in complex cases); Brewster v. Dukakis, 544 F.Supp. 1069, 1079 (D.Mass.1982) (compensating for negotiation sessions), aff'd as modified, 786 F.2d 16, 21 (1st Cir.1986); In re Agent Orange Prod. Liab. Litig., 611 F.Supp. 1296, 1321, 1348 (E.D.N.Y.1985) (compensating routine activities such as telephone calls or reading mail that contribute to the litigation). Reasonable travel time of the prevailing party's attorneys ordinarily is compensated on an hourly basis, although the rate may be reduced if no legal work was performed during travel. University College, 706 F.2d at...