Fernandez v. City Of New York

Background

Barbara Fernandez, now known as Barbie Ozuna, brought this civil-rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. She sued on her own behalf and on behalf of Zoe Ozuna, E.O., and I.O. The allegations concerned Ozuna’s arrest, the removal of her children from her custody, medical strip searches of the children without parental consent, and the children’s placement in foster care.

The parties conducted extensive discovery and negotiated a settlement after settlement conferences and calls. They agreed to resolve the case for a total settlement cost of $360,000, including attorneys’ fees and costs. Because the settlement involved minor children, the court had to review and approve the proposed settlement, known as an infant compromise order, to determine whether it protected the children’s interests and whether the settlement, fees, and costs were fair and reasonable.

Settlement Review

The court found that the settlement was reached through arm’s-length negotiations, that the parties had conducted enough discovery for counsel to evaluate the case, and that the proposed compromise reasonably accounted for the complexity, risks, expense, duration, and likely rewards of continued litigation. The court also gave substantial weight to Ozuna’s statement that she understood the risks and believed the settlement was best for her children.

The proposed allocation designated $30,000 for Ozuna and $110,000 for each of Zoe Ozuna, E.O., and I.O. The proposal sought $120,000 in attorneys’ fees and $4,231.10 in costs. The court determined that the one-third contingency fee should be calculated from the net settlement after costs, not from the gross $360,000 amount. That calculation produced an attorneys’ fee of $118,589.63.

Fees, Costs, and Revised Awards

The court approved the $4,231.10 in costs because counsel provided sufficient documentation, including records for deposition and transcript fees, process-server expenses, and the filing fee. It also approved $118,589.63 in attorneys’ fees. The court considered the contingency-fee agreement advisory, compared the requested fee with a lodestar estimate—the hours reasonably worked multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate—and found the requested fee reasonable and appropriate.

After deducting the costs and fees, the court recalculated the awards. Barbie Ozuna received $30,000. Zoe Ozuna, E.O., and I.O. each received $69,059.76. The total amount paid to the plaintiffs after fees and costs was $237,179.28.

Disposition

Judge Wang concluded that the $360,000 settlement was fair, reasonable, and proper and approved the infant compromise order. The court granted in part the motion to approve the infant compromise order, with modifications, and granted counsel’s request for $118,589.63 in attorneys’ fees plus $4,231.10 in costs.