Andrade v. American First Finance, Inc.
- Sallie Kim
- 3:18-cv-06743
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Andrade v. American First Finance, Judge Kim awarded Defendant $33,668.50 in attorneys’ fees and ordered Plaintiff to send a notice.
Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s counsel, Defendant, and Defendant’s customers were affected. Plaintiff was ordered to pay Defendant $33,668.50 in attorneys’ fees and hire a third-party administrator to send the notice.
What happened
In Andrade v. American First Finance, Inc., the court said Plaintiff’s counsel violated a protective order by using confidential information to solicit clients in arbitration. The court had previously ordered Plaintiff to pay Defendant’s fees for bringing that matter and requested additional briefing.
The court found the requested attorneys’ rates reasonable for the district and the hours reasonable. It noted that Defendant had reduced its requested hours and did not seek payment for some investigation and motion work. Plaintiff did not challenge the rates or hours.
Judge Sallie Kim awarded Defendant the full requested amount of $33,668.50. The court also ordered Plaintiff to hire a third-party administrator to send an attached notice to Defendant’s customers, but did not require Plaintiff to post the notice on the website.
The detailed version
- Andrade v. American First Finance, Inc. · No. 3:18-cv-06743
- Sallie Kim
- Oct. 25, 2022
Background
The court had previously granted Defendant’s motion for an order requiring Plaintiff to explain an alleged violation. In that earlier order, the court found that Plaintiff’s counsel violated the protective order in this case by using confidential information to solicit clients in arbitration. The court ordered Plaintiff to pay Defendant’s attorneys’ fees incurred in bringing that motion and requested additional briefing on the amount.
Attorneys’ Fees
The court applied the lodestar approach, which generally calculates reasonable fees by multiplying the reasonable hours worked by a reasonable hourly rate. It found the attorneys’ rates reasonable in light of prevailing rates in the district and the attorneys’ experience. It also found that the number of hours claimed was not unreasonable.
The court noted that Defendant voluntarily reduced its claimed hours and did not seek compensation for time spent by Burr & Forman investigating emails or working on the motion. Plaintiff had an opportunity to challenge Defendant’s rates or hours but did not do so.
Notice and Disposition
The court awarded Defendant the full amount of attorneys’ fees requested: $33,668.50. The court also attached a notice to be sent to Defendant’s customers and ordered Plaintiff to hire a third-party administrator to send it. The court did not require Plaintiff to display the notice on the website. Judge Sallie Kim entered the order on October 25, 2022.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.