Fukita v. Gist

Background

Tomoko Fukita filed the lawsuit to enforce two Form I-864 Affidavits of Support. The affidavits were submitted by her former husband, Joshua Gist, and former mother-in-law, Deborah Starr, in connection with her immigrant visa petition. Fukita is a citizen of Japan and a lawful permanent resident of the United States.

Gist and Starr did not initially respond to the complaint or enter appearances. They later appeared without lawyers at a hearing on Fukita’s request for a default judgment and did not contest their support obligations. On January 28, 2021, the court directed entry of a $44,456.97 default judgment and found that Fukita could recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs under 8 U.S.C. § 1183a(c).

Fee request and analysis

Fukita requested $4,846.47 in fees and $500 in costs for local counsel Nicholas Ratkowski, plus $14,989.36 in fees and costs for national counsel Gregory McLawsen. The defendants did not respond.

The court used the lodestar method, which generally calculates a reasonable fee by multiplying the reasonable hours worked by a reasonable hourly rate. It found that McLawsen’s requested rate of $400 per hour was reasonable because of his experience and specialized knowledge of Form I-864 litigation. Although Ratkowski also had immigration-law experience, the court found that $300 per hour was reasonable for his level of experience rather than the requested $400 rate. The court found that Ratkowski’s 12.12 hours were reasonable and that the documented fees and costs were necessary, reasonable, and not excessive.

Ruling

Judge Susan Richard Nelson granted Fukita’s requested $14,989.36 for McLawsen’s fees and costs. The court granted in part and denied in part the request attributable to Ratkowski, awarding $3,636 in fees and $500 in costs, for $4,136. The court therefore granted in part and denied in part the motion for attorney’s fees and awarded Fukita a total of $19,125.36 in attorney’s fees and costs against the defendants.