Block v. Smilemart, Inc
- Virginia Demarchi
- 5:19-cv-07758
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 12
In Block v. Smilemart, Judge Demarchi granted in part and denied in part Block’s fees motion, awarding $24,595 in fees and $2,975.49 in costs.
Hendrik Block received a reduced attorney’s-fee award and all requested costs; SmileMart, Inc. and the other defendants were ordered to pay the total award.
What happened
In Block v. Smilemart, Inc., Hendrik Block brought disability-access claims under federal and California law after alleging barriers at a SmileMart store. The parties later settled the claims for changes to access conditions and $4,000 in statutory damages, but did not agree on attorney’s fees and costs.
Block asked for $25,020 in attorney’s fees and $2,975.49 in costs. The defendants challenged some of the hours billed as excessive and objected to two categories of costs. The court reviewed the billing records and found most of the claimed time reasonable, but deducted some time for certain administrative tasks and document reviews.
Judge Demarchi granted in part and denied in part the motion. She awarded Block $24,595 in fees and all requested costs of $2,975.49, for a total award of $27,570.49.
The detailed version
- Block v. Smilemart, Inc · No. 5:19-cv-07758
- Virginia Demarchi
- Feb. 26, 2021
Background
Hendrik Block filed a disability-rights lawsuit against SmileMart, Inc. and other defendants. He asserted claims under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the California Unruh Civil Rights Act, and California Health and Safety Code sections 19955 and following. Block said he must use a walker, wheelchair, or motorized scooter for mobility and encountered accessibility barriers at a SmileMart store in San Jose, California, including a steep ramp without a level landing, an uneven interior floor with missing pieces, and aisles that were too narrow.
The parties conducted a joint site inspection and participated in mediation. At mediation, they settled Block’s claims for injunctive relief and $4,000 in statutory damages but did not resolve attorney’s fees and costs. In July 2020, they stipulated to dismissal of the action with prejudice, leaving the fees-and-costs dispute for the court. The court retained jurisdiction to decide that dispute.
Motion for fees and costs
Block requested $25,020 in attorney’s fees and $2,975.49 in litigation costs, for a total requested award of $27,995.49. The requested hourly rates were $475 for attorney Tanya Moore, $175 for paralegal Isaac Medrano, and $150 for paralegal Whitney Law. The claimed hours were 42.9 for Moore, 5.7 for Medrano, and 24.3 for Law.
The court used the lodestar method, which calculates a fee by multiplying reasonable hours by a reasonable hourly rate. The defendants did not challenge the hourly rates but argued that the number of hours was excessive. The court independently reviewed the billing records rather than accepting the request without examination.
Fee deductions
The court rejected most of the defendants’ objections. It found reasonable the time spent investigating and preparing the complaint, handling the required site inspection and settlement meeting, pursuing settlement discussions, preparing for mediation, attempting to resolve the fee dispute, and preparing the fee motion and related briefing.
The court deducted 0.2 hours from Medrano’s time for preparing certain one-page forms, 0.6 hours from Moore’s time for reviewing several short or routine docket filings, 0.2 hours from Medrano’s time for preparing proof of service for initial disclosures, and 0.4 hours from Medrano’s time for preparing and finalizing a one-page mediation notice. The deductions reduced the requested fee award by $425, from $25,020 to $24,595. The court found that no upward or downward adjustment to the lodestar was warranted.
Costs
Block requested $2,975.49 in costs: a $400 filing fee, $121.40 in process-server fees, a $234 pre-filing investigation fee, and a $2,220 fee for a Certified Access Specialist inspection connected to the required site inspection. The defendants objected to the investigation fee and the Certified Access Specialist fee, but offered no explanation supporting the first objection and no evidence supporting their assertions about the second. The court awarded all requested costs.
Disposition
Judge Virginia K. Demarchi granted in part and denied in part Block’s motion for attorney’s fees and costs. The court awarded $24,595 in attorney’s fees and $2,975.49 in costs, for a total award of $27,570.49.
Read the full 12-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.