First Capital Real Estate Investments, L.L.C. v. SDDCO Brokerage Advisors, LLC
- John Koeltl
- 1:18-cv-02013
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In First Capital Estate Investments v. SDDCO Brokerage Advisors, Magistrate Judge Fox granted SDDCO’s request for $11,412.50 in reasonable attorney’s fees.
SDDCO Brokerage Advisors, LLC received a granted fee application for $11,412.50; First Capital Estate Investments, LLC was the party responsible for the fee obligation under the agreement.
What happened
First Capital Estate Investments, LLC v. SDDCO Brokerage Advisors, LLC involved SDDCO’s request for attorney’s fees after the court had ordered discovery related to a motion to compel. The request was not opposed.
SDDCO sought $11,412.50 for 20.75 hours of attorney Kevin S. Koplin’s work at $550 per hour. The parties’ agreement required payment of reasonable attorney’s fees connected with that agreement.
United States Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox found both the hourly rate and the hours reasonable and granted SDDCO’s application for the full $11,412.50.
The detailed version
- First Capital Real Estate Investments, L.L.C. v. SDDCO Brokerage Advisors, LLC · No. 1:18-cv-02013
- John Koeltl
- Apr. 14, 2020
Background
The case began when First Capital petitioned to vacate an arbitration award issued by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The petition was denied, and that denial was affirmed. During post-judgment discovery, the court granted SDDCO’s motion to compel in part after finding that First Capital had unexplainedly failed to answer an information subpoena. The court had directed SDDCO to submit an application for reasonable attorney’s fees incurred in connection with the motion to compel.
Fee Request
SDDCO submitted an unopposed application under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(5)(A). It requested $11,412.50 for 20.75 hours of work by attorney Kevin S. Koplin, billed at $550 per hour. The work included preparing an informal-conference letter, preparing for a telephone conference, researching and drafting the motion to compel, locating exhibits, reviewing First Capital’s opposition, and researching and drafting the reply.
SDDCO also submitted Koplin’s affidavit and the parties’ Placement Agreement. That agreement required First Capital to indemnify SDDCO for reasonable attorney’s fees incurred in connection with the agreement. The opinion states that the assigned district judge had previously found Koplin’s $550 hourly rate reasonable.
Legal Standard
Because this was a diversity case, the court applied New York law to the attorney’s-fee award. New York generally requires either an agreement between the parties or statutory authorization for awarding fees. Courts assessing reasonableness consider factors including the time and labor required, the difficulty of the issues, the attorney’s experience and ability, the amount involved, the results obtained, and the customary fee for similar work.
Ruling
United States Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox found that Koplin’s $550 hourly rate was reasonable and that 20.75 hours was a reasonable amount of time for the motion-to-compel work. The court found that Koplin had provided sufficient detail supporting the hours claimed and concluded that $11,412.50 was a reasonable fee. The court therefore granted SDDCO’s application, docket entry 83.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.