Robinson v. Ariyoshi, Civ. No. 74-32.
Court | United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. United States District Court (Hawaii) |
Writing for the Court | William F. Quinn and John J. Rapp, Honolulu, Hawaii, for Olokele Sugar Co., Ltd |
Citation | 703 F. Supp. 1412 |
Decision Date | 18 January 1989 |
Docket Number | Civ. No. 74-32. |
Parties | Selwyn A. ROBINSON, et al., Plaintiffs, v. George R. ARIYOSHI, et al., Defendants, and McBryde Sugar Co., Ltd., et al., Defendants. |
703 F. Supp. 1412
Selwyn A. ROBINSON, et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
George R. ARIYOSHI, et al., Defendants,
and
McBryde Sugar Co., Ltd., et al., Defendants.
Civ. No. 74-32.
United States District Court, D. Hawaii.
January 18, 1989.
William F. Quinn and John J. Rapp, Honolulu, Hawaii, for Olokele Sugar Co., Ltd.
J. Russell Cades and Philip J. Leas, Honolulu, Hawaii, for McBryde Sugar Co., Ltd.
Corrinne K.A. Watanabe, Atty. Gen., Steven Michaels, Deputy Atty. Gen., and Paul D. Alston, Honolulu, Hawaii, for State Officials.
Robert B. Bunn, Honolulu, Hawaii, for Small Owners Ida Albarado, et al.
ORDER ON McBRYDE'S MOTION FOR AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS
PENCE, Senior District Judge.
Defendant and Cross-Claimant McBryde Sugar Co., Ltd. (McBryde), has again in 1988 moved this court for an award of attorneys' fees and costs actually paid by McBryde in and relevant to this present litigation, plus interest lost thereby. The motion is based upon the Civil Rights Attorneys' Fees Award Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 1988 (1976). With the instant motion, of course, were additional exhibits, affidavits, and memoranda in support of the motion. The court will take judicial notice of the prior affidavits, exhibits, and records and files in this case as they may involve the problem of attorneys' fees and costs.
On October 29, 1985, McBryde filed a similar motion for attorneys' fees, etc., but before this court had ruled on that motion, the court of appeals vacated this court's 1977 decision in favor of McBryde and other plaintiffs. This court, therefore, was estopped from further consideration of that motion. On December 28, 1987, this court, on remand, re-entered judgment in favor of McBryde (and other plaintiffs), hence McBryde's re-filed motion for attorneys' fees, etc.
The attorneys' fees and costs sought by McBryde are the fees and costs McBryde actually paid prior to and including December 31, 1987 in connection with this litigation. The fees requested by McBryde were incurred for proceedings in:
1. The Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii in McBryde's attempt, in 1973, to obtain a re-hearing and an evidentiary hearing on its constitutional claims evolving from that court's ruling in January 1973 in McBryde Sugar Company v. Robinson, 54 Haw. 174, 504 P.2d 1330 (McBryde I) that the "State is the owner of all the water" in the Hanapepe River, that the English commonlaw doctrine of riparian rights governs the use of Hawaii's stream waters, and that neither McBryde, the Small Owners, nor any of the other plaintiffs could transport water out of the watershed.
2. The United States Supreme Court on the Petition for Certiorari in 1974.
3. This court, in proceedings from 1974 through 1977.
4. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in appellate proceedings from 1977 through 1985.
5. The Supreme Court of Hawaii, in proceedings on the certified questions from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1981 through 1983.
6. This court, in proceedings on its first remand from 1985 through 1986.
7. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in proceedings on appeal of this court's judgment after remand.
8. The United States Supreme Court, in the proceedings on State Officials' Petition for Certiorari.
9. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in proceedings on remand from The Court.
10. This court, in proceedings on remand from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and
11. This court, in proceedings on the original application for attorneys' fees in 1985.
The attorneys' fees sought by McBryde in the instant motion also included fees paid by McBryde on behalf of the Small
Second, as an alternative to the above method of compensating McBryde, McBryde requests this court to award fees based upon the current hourly rates for attorneys and sets forth the basis for that calculation in Exhibit C. The resulting requested fee award under this method would be $1,948,032.72. McBryde asked this court that the award based on current hourly rates be effective only if the appellate court determines that the State Officials have no obligation to pay interest.
Finally, in addition to the upward adjustment to the fees actually paid in order to compensate for delays in payment, McBryde requests a further upward adjustment for:
1. The amount of time spent by McBryde's attorneys on the litigation and not billed to McBryde, and
2. The relentless litigious actions of the State Officials in their unremitting attempt to sustain the ruling of the Supreme Court and keep, for the State, the virtually absolute and almost untrammelled control over all of the flowing waters in the State of Hawaii.
The initial reaction of anyone, not thoroughly familiar with the political background behind the above-referred-to opinion of the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii, in 1973, in McBryde v. Robinson, as well as the history of the movements of this litigation up and down through the Hawaii Supreme Court, this United States District Court, the Circuit Court of Appeals, and The Supreme Court of the United States, when presented with a claim on the part of the attorneys for McBryde and the owners of small parcels of land and water rights that McBryde should be repaid over $2 million for attorneys' fees, costs, and losses it has paid and suffered, might well be that any such request is outrageous. The position of the Attorney General's Office of the State of Hawaii is that McBryde's claim for those fees, costs, and losses should, in part, be entirely denied and the remainder drastically cut. This position, on the part of the present Attorney General of the State of Hawaii, might, charitably, be excused because he inherited this case from his politicized predecessors in office. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that Hawaii's Governor Waihee, who appointed the present Attorney General, became Governor through the support of the political machine built up by former Governor Burns and preserved and continued by Governor Ariyoshi.1
The casual observer would not know that on January 10, 1973, the "Richardson Court" (which, on December 20, 1973 became a 3-2 majority), headed by Chief Justice
All of those almost catastrophic evils should have been instantly apparent to the Attorney General of the State of Hawaii back in 1973. It should have been even more apparent to the successive Attorney Generals thereafter. However, the attitude of the Attorney General of the State of Hawaii on January 10, 1973, when, by the ukase and fiat of Justices Richardson and Abe, the water rights of Robinson, McBryde, Olokele, and the Small Owners were, without warning, expropriated, taken away from...
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...office" and given the complexity of this case, the costs of online legal research services are also reasonable. Robinson v. Ariyoshi, 703 F.Supp. 1412, 1436 (D.Haw. 1989) (citing United Nuclear Corp. v. Cannon, 564 F.Supp. 581 (D.R.I.1983)), rev'd on other grounds, 933 F.2d 781 (9th Cir. 19......
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In re Media Vision Technology Securities Litigation, Master No. C-94-1015 EFL.
...is to be given a liberal interpretation. See Dowdell v. City of Apopka, 698 F.2d 1181, 1192 (11th Cir.1983); Robinson v. Ariyoshi, 703 F.Supp. 1412, 1436 (D.Haw.1989), rev'd on other grounds, 933 F.2d 781 There seems to be a general consensus among jurisdictions to reimburse counsel for pos......
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Dfs Group L.P. v. Paiea Properties, No. 25662.
...among the federal jurisdictions regarding the treatment of costs related to computer-assisted research. See Robinson v. Ariyoshi, 703 F.Supp. 1412, 1436-1437 (D.Haw.1989), rev'd on other grounds, 933 F.2d 781 (9th Cir. 1991). Nevertheless, a significant amount of federal jurisdictions, not ......
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DFS GROUP LP v. Paiea Properties, No. 25662
...among the federal jurisdictions regarding the treatment of costs related to computer-assisted research. See Robinson v. Ariyoshi, 703 F.Supp. 1412, 1436-1437 (D. Haw. 1989), rev'd on other grounds, 933 F.2d 781 (9th Cir. 1991). Nevertheless, a significant amount of federal jurisdictions, no......
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In re Immune Response Securities Litigation, No. 01CV1237 J WMC.
...office" and given the complexity of this case, the costs of online legal research services are also reasonable. Robinson v. Ariyoshi, 703 F.Supp. 1412, 1436 (D.Haw. 1989) (citing United Nuclear Corp. v. Cannon, 564 F.Supp. 581 (D.R.I.1983)), rev'd on other grounds, 933 F.2d 781 (9th Cir. 19......
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In re Media Vision Technology Securities Litigation, Master No. C-94-1015 EFL.
...is to be given a liberal interpretation. See Dowdell v. City of Apopka, 698 F.2d 1181, 1192 (11th Cir.1983); Robinson v. Ariyoshi, 703 F.Supp. 1412, 1436 (D.Haw.1989), rev'd on other grounds, 933 F.2d 781 There seems to be a general consensus among jurisdictions to reimburse counsel for pos......
-
Dfs Group L.P. v. Paiea Properties, No. 25662.
...among the federal jurisdictions regarding the treatment of costs related to computer-assisted research. See Robinson v. Ariyoshi, 703 F.Supp. 1412, 1436-1437 (D.Haw.1989), rev'd on other grounds, 933 F.2d 781 (9th Cir. 1991). Nevertheless, a significant amount of federal jurisdictions, not ......
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DFS GROUP LP v. Paiea Properties, No. 25662
...among the federal jurisdictions regarding the treatment of costs related to computer-assisted research. See Robinson v. Ariyoshi, 703 F.Supp. 1412, 1436-1437 (D. Haw. 1989), rev'd on other grounds, 933 F.2d 781 (9th Cir. 1991). Nevertheless, a significant amount of federal jurisdictions, no......