Krekelberg v. Anoka County

Background

Krekelberg brought claims under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act and the Minnesota Whistleblower Act, alleging that defendants and their employees accessed her driver’s license information improperly. A jury previously found in her favor and awarded $285,000 in compensatory damages and $300,000 in punitive damages. The defendants appealed, and the Eighth Circuit reversed and remanded for a new trial based on evidentiary and jury-instruction errors.

Before the second trial began, the parties settled. Under the settlement, defendants agreed to pay Krekelberg $315,000 and provide injunctive relief, including training for certain employees and sworn commitments by defendants Young and Olson not to access Krekelberg’s personal information through a state database again.

Krekelberg’s first fee award was $644,599.13, after the court applied two 25 percent reductions for excessive or poorly described hours and litigation inefficiencies. The court also previously awarded $47,086.36 in costs. In the second motion, Krekelberg sought additional attorney’s fees and costs for the appeal, preparation for the second trial, and settlement negotiations.

Court’s Analysis

The court held that Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure did not limit Krekelberg’s recovery. The defendants had made a prior offer of $201,000. The court found that the later $315,000 settlement was more favorable and also included significant injunctive relief that was absent from the earlier offer.

The court declined to reduce the award because of limited success. It found that Krekelberg succeeded on the central claim in the case, that the settlement was significant compared with other Driver’s Privacy Protection Act cases, and that the settlement exceeded the earlier offer. The court also declined to eliminate fees for the first trial, finding that the evidentiary and jury-instruction issues were close calls and that Krekelberg’s conduct during trial was not unreasonable.

For work performed from May 8, 2013, through January 16, 2020, the court adopted its earlier award of $644,599.13. For work from January 17, 2020, through July 28, 2022, the court found that the time spent on the appeal, second-trial preparation, and settlement negotiations was excessive or inefficient. It applied a 60 percent reduction and awarded $250,421.90 for that period.

For costs, the court found conflicting calculations concerning additional expenses. Because of the attorneys’ calculation errors, it awarded the lesser additional amount requested by Krekelberg, $2,317.63. Added to the earlier cost award, this produced a total cost award of $49,403.99.

Disposition

Judge Donovan W. Frank ordered that Krekelberg’s second motion for attorney’s fees be GRANTED IN PART. The court awarded $895,021.03 in attorney’s fees and $49,403.99 in costs.