Williams v. Cnty. of Dakota, Neb.

• Decision Date: 06 August 2012
• Docket Number: No. 11–1089.,11–1089.
• Citation: 687 F.3d 1064,115 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1177
• Parties: Charvette WILLIAMS, Plaintiff–Appellee v. COUNTY OF DAKOTA, NEBRASKA; Rodney Herron, in his official and individual capacity, Defendants–Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

687 F.3d 1064

115 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1177

Charvette WILLIAMS, Plaintiff–Appellee

v.COUNTY OF DAKOTA, NEBRASKA; Rodney Herron, in his official and individual capacity, Defendants–Appellants.

No. 11–1089.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: Feb. 16, 2012.

Filed: Aug. 6, 2012.

Vincent Valentino, argued, Lincoln, NE, for Defendants–Appellants.

Thomas J. Duff, argued, Des Moines, IA, Dewey Paul Sloan, Jr., on the brief, Le Mars, IA, for Plaintiff–Appellee.

Before GRUENDER, BENTON, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

SHEPHERD, Circuit Judge.

Charvette Williams sued the County of Dakota, Nebraska, and former sheriff's deputy Rodney Herron (Defendants), alleging Title VII violations, sexual harassment by both the employer and individual supervisors, and violation of the Equal Pay Act. The County advanced a limited offer of judgment to settle the Title VII and Equal Pay Act claims in the amount of $2,439.20 plus interest, which Williams accepted. Williams then sought an award of attorney's fees on the partial judgment, and the district court ultimately awarded $24,500 in attorney's fees to Williams in two separate orders. The district court certified its orders as final judgments under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) so as to allow for an interlocutory appeal. Defendants now appeal, arguing that the court abused its discretion in failing to reduce the amount of the fee awards. We conclude that the district court abused its discretion by entering final judgment under Rule 54(b), and we dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

I.

In January of 2007, Charvette Williams began work as a correctional officer at the Dakota County Jail. In September of 2008, she filed a written grievance regarding her rate of pay that was ultimately denied by the Dakota County Board. Two months later, Williams filed a charge of discrimination on the basis of pay with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission (NEOC) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Williams's charge was dismissed at the administrative level for lack of evidence.

On June 12, 2009, Williams filed a complaint in state court asserting the pay-related claims she previously raised administratively. Williams also alleged that the County maintained a hostile work environment and that she had been sexually harassed repeatedly by Herron. The case was subsequently removed to federal court, and Williams twice amended her complaint to correct defects in her pleading and to remove entities that were immune from suit. The second amended complaint named Dakota County and Herron as defendants and alleged claims in four separate counts: (1) the County violated Title VII by discriminating against Williams on the basis of her race and gender with respect to the terms and conditions of her employment, including pay; (2) the County, including Herron in his official capacity, violated Williams's equal protection rights by maintaining a work environment that was sexually hostile to women; (3) Herron acted in his individual capacity to violate Williams's equal protection rights by maintaining a sexually hostile work environment; and (4) the County violated the Equal Pay Act by paying female employees less than their male counterparts for similar work performed under similar conditions.

On June 29, 2010, Defendants advanced a limited offer of judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68(a) to settle the discriminatory pay claims in Counts 1 and 4. Defendants offered $2,439.20 plus interest and “reasonable costs ... including attorneys fees.” Williams accepted the offer, and the parties agreed that Counts 2 and 3, which consisted of the sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims, would continue to be litigated. Shortly thereafter, Williams filed a motion seeking $30,940 in attorney's fees based on 88.4 hours of work at the rate of $350 per hour. Defendants filed an opposing brief, supported by an affidavit from Defendants' attorney, which argued that the rate and amount sought by Williams was excessive. The court ultimately determined that counsel for Williams performed 88 hours of work and found $250 to be a more reasonable hourly rate than $350 under the circumstances. Two days later, the court, on its own motion, awarded Williams an additional $2,500 in attorney's fees for the time spent by Williams's counsel in responding to Defendants' objection to the original motion for attorney's fees.

Defendants subsequently moved to alter or amend the two orders awarding attorney's fees, requesting that they be certified as final judgments under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) because there was “no just reason for delay.” In her response, Williams agreed that the orders should be made immediately appealable and cited the hardship to Williams's counsel if payment of the attorney's fees were delayed. The court granted the motion and amended the orders awarding attorney's fees “to include a certification that there is ‘no reason for delay’ pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b).” Defendants now appeal.

II.

Defendants argue that the district court abused its discretion by failing to limit the amount of attorney's fees. However, as an initial matter, we must determine whether we have jurisdiction to address Defendants' arguments at this time. Although both Williams and Defendants agree that Rule 54(b) certification was properly granted so as to litigate the issue of attorney's fees on appeal, the parties “may not create jurisdiction ‘by waiver or consent.’ ” Outdoor Cent., Inc. v. GreatLodge.com, Inc., 643 F.3d 1115, 1118 (8th Cir.2011) (citation omitted). “The federal courts are courts of limited, not general, jurisdiction. Thus, every federal appellate court has a special obligation to consider its own jurisdiction.” Thomas v. Basham, 931 F.2d 521, 522–23 (8th Cir.1991) (internal citation omitted). “We are obligated to consider sua sponte our jurisdiction to entertain a case where, as here, we believe that jurisdiction may be lacking.” Huggins v. FedEx Ground Package Sys., Inc., 566 F.3d 771, 773 (8th Cir.2009).

“[W]e generally consider only orders that dispose of all claims as final and appealable under [28 U.S.C.] § 1291.” Id. “Rule 54(b) creates a well-established exception to this rule by allowing a district court to enter a final judgment on some but not all of the claims in a lawsuit.” Clark v. Baka, 593 F.3d 712, 714 (8th Cir.2010) (per curiam) (citations and quotation marks omitted). However, the district court may enter final judgment under this rule “only if the court expressly determines that there is no just reason for delay.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b). We review the court's decision to grant Rule 54(b) certification for an abuse of discretion, noting that such interlocutory appeals are “generally disfavored” and that “it is only the special case that warrants an immediate appeal from a partial resolution of the lawsuit.” Clark, 593 F.3d at 714–15 (citations and quotation marks omitted).

When deciding whether to grant Rule 54(b) certification, the district court must undertake a two-step analysis. The court “ ‘must first determine that it is dealing with a final judgment .... in the sense that it is an ultimate disposition of an individual claim.’ ” Outdoor Cent., 643 F.3d at 1118 (quoting Curtiss–Wright Corp. v. Gen. Elec. Co., 446 U.S. 1, 7, 100 S.Ct. 1460, 64 L.Ed.2d 1 (1980)). Second, “[i]n determining that there is no just reason for delay, the district court must consider both the equities of the situation and judicial administrative interests, particularly the interest in preventing piecemeal appeals.” Id. (citation and quotation marks omitted). “Certification should be granted only if there exists ‘some danger of hardship or injustice through delay which would be alleviated by immediate appeal.’ ” Hayden v. McDonald, 719 F.2d 266, 268 (8th Cir.1983) (per curiam) (citation omitted).

Generally, we give substantial deference to the district court's decision to certify orders under Rule 54(b) as the district court is “ ‘most likely to be familiar with the case and with any justifiable reasons for delay.’ ” Clark, 593 F.3d at 715 (citation omitted). However, this deference “rests on the assumption that the district court undertook to weigh and examine the competing interests involved in a certification decision.” Hayden, 719 F.2d at 268. Here, the district court's analysis of the motion for Rule 54(b) certification was limited to the following sentences:

Defendants request that the judgments be altered or amended to include a certification that there is “no reason for delay” pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b). Plaintiff has filed a response agreeing that this court should so amend its judgments, so that the parties can litigate the attorney fee issue on appeal. The remainder of the case will proceed to trial. The court has reviewed the request and response and finds the motion should be granted.

A detailed statement of reasons why there is “no just reason for delay” need not accompany a Rule 54(b) entry of judgment, but “where the district court gives no specific reasons, our review of that court's decision is necessarily more speculative and less circumscribed than would be the case had the court explained its actions more fully.” Little Earth of United Tribes, Inc. v. United States Dep't of Hous. & Urban Dev., 738 F.2d 310, 313 (8th Cir.1984) (per curiam). “If, as here, a district court's decision does not reflect an evaluation of such factors as the interrelationship of the claims so as to prevent piecemeal appeals or show a familiar[ity] with the case and with any justifiable reasons for delay, we scrutinize its decision carefully.” Huggins, 566 F.3d at 774 (internal citations and quotation marks omitted).

“In the absence of a reasoned analysis by the district court, ‘we may assume that the...