Portz v. St. Cloud State University
- John Tunheim
- 0:16-cv-01115
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 11
In Portz v. St. Cloud State University, Judge Tunheim granted in part and denied in part plaintiffs’ request for fees and costs.
The plaintiffs and their attorneys were affected by the partial award of fees and costs; St. Cloud State University and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities were affected as the defendants responsible for the ordered payment.
What happened
In Portz v. St. Cloud State University, female student-athletes won a trial judgment finding that St. Cloud State University had violated Title IX, the federal law barring sex discrimination in education, in athletic opportunities and treatment and benefits. They then asked the court to make the defendants pay their attorneys’ fees and litigation costs.
The defendants argued that the plaintiffs had prolonged the case, performed unnecessary work, and requested costs that could not be recovered. The court rejected most of those objections, but reduced or excluded some amounts, including fees for unnecessary attorney participation, premature fee preparation, expert fees, some legal research, unsuccessful travel, and part of the mediation expenses. The court deferred a decision on fees connected to a separate contempt motion.
Judge Tunheim granted in part and denied in part the motion. The opinion’s analysis calculated $1,154,778.98 in attorneys’ fees and $16,663.92 in costs, for a total of $1,171,442.90, but the final order listed attorneys’ fees of $1,541,778.98 while also stating the motion was granted in part and denied in part.
The detailed version
- Portz v. St. Cloud State University · No. 0:16-cv-01115
- John Tunheim
- Jan. 21, 2020
Background
The plaintiffs were female student-athletes who attended or recently attended St. Cloud State University and participated in its women’s tennis or women’s Nordic skiing teams. They initially alleged that the university violated Title IX by providing unequal athletic-participation opportunities and that it violated the Fourteenth Amendment through sex discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court later dismissed the § 1983 claim and a Title IX claim concerning unequal athletic-related financial assistance.
After a seven-day bench trial, the court found that St. Cloud State had failed to comply with Title IX in allocating athletic-participation opportunities and in providing athletic treatment and benefits. Judgment was entered for the plaintiffs and against the defendants on those claims. The court had stated that reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs would be awarded for the claims on which the plaintiffs prevailed.
Attorneys’ Fees
The court used the lodestar method, which generally multiplies a reasonable hourly rate by a reasonable number of hours. It found the requested hourly rates reasonable and focused its reductions on specific hours and expenses.
The court reduced fees connected to the October 2016 mediation by 50%, or $4,986.79, because the named plaintiffs did not attend in person and plaintiffs’ counsel had not been fully clear about their attendance. It rejected reductions based on the parties’ failure to settle at later conferences and on the plaintiffs’ delayed response to a proposed stipulation of uncontested facts.
The court allowed fees and costs connected to site visits, finding that the plaintiffs were accompanied by people authorized to access the facilities. It declined to award $10,522.08 for additional attorneys at depositions, hearings, and conferences that one attorney could have handled. It also declined to award $2,548.20 for an unnecessary and unopposed motion in limine, and $1,254.00 for premature preparation of the fee application.
The court deferred judgment on fees related to the plaintiffs’ contempt motion because briefing had only recently been completed and the court had not yet heard argument. It stated that additional fees might be awarded if the plaintiffs succeeded on that motion, but not if they were unsuccessful.
The court allowed fees for Kristin Galles, who served as advisory counsel even though she did not enter an appearance, sign papers, argue motions, or appear to have practiced in Minnesota. Applying a framework concerning fees for advisory counsel, the court concluded that Galles acted as counsel or a legal consultant rather than as a non-testifying expert. The court’s analysis stated that the resulting attorneys’ fee award was $1,154,778.98.
Costs
The court denied the plaintiffs’ request for $78,111.39 in expert-witness fees because the relevant fee statute authorizes such fees in cases enforcing certain civil-rights provisions, not in Title IX cases. It reduced legal-research costs by 50%, or $5,617.75, because the plaintiffs had pursued claims dismissed before trial and did not identify which claims the research supported. It also deducted $179.30 for travel related to an unsuccessful summary-judgment motion and $450.00 for half of the October 2016 mediation costs.
The court awarded $16,663.92 in costs.
Disposition
The order states: “Plaintiffs’ Motion for Attorney Fees” was GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. It awards attorneys’ fees of $1,541,778.98 and non-taxable costs of $16,663.92, and directs that judgment be entered.
The opinion contains an apparent numerical inconsistency. Its opening, analysis, and cost calculation state a combined award of $1,171,442.90, which equals the analyzed attorneys’ fee amount of $1,154,778.98 plus $16,663.92 in costs. The final order instead lists attorneys’ fees of $1,541,778.98, which does not match that analysis or the stated combined total.
Read the full 11-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.