Pristine Jewelers NY, Inc. v. Broner

Background

Pristine Jewelers NY, Inc. alleged that Adrien Broner, About Billions, LLC, and Ravone Littlejohn purchased jewelry on three occasions but failed to pay the full amounts owed. According to the allegations accepted by the court because of the default, the unpaid balance, including interest, totaled $1,252,000. The defendants had made two payments totaling $100,000 and had received credits for trade-in jewelry. They also issued checks that were returned for insufficient funds.

Pristine entered into a settlement agreement with Broner and About Billions, referred to as the settling defendants. The court endorsed that agreement on June 20, 2019, and expressly retained jurisdiction to enforce it. Littlejohn was not a party to the settlement agreement and was expressly separated from the claims against the settling defendants.

The settlement required Broner and About Billions to jointly pay $1,252,000 in three installments. They paid the first installment of $252,000. The agreement required a second payment of $500,000 by the first bell of Broner's first scheduled professional boxing match and a third payment of $500,000 on the date of a second match. The agreement provided that failure to make the required payments could constitute a material breach and permit a default judgment for $1,000,000, plus specified interest, costs, and reasonable attorney's fees.

Motion and Nonappearance

On January 2, 2020, Pristine notified the court that the settling defendants had breached the agreement by failing to make the second payment. Pristine then moved to enforce the settlement agreement and requested a default judgment. Broner did not appear or indicate that he intended to dispute the motion. About Billions also failed to obtain new counsel after its prior counsel withdrew; the court had warned that the company could be subject to default if it did not appear through a lawyer. Neither settling defendant responded to the motion or to the court's scheduling order.

Pristine requested judgment of $1,388,330.63, consisting of $1,000,000 in principal and $388,330.63 in accrued interest. Pristine's counsel also requested $138,838.06 in attorney's fees and $1,120 in costs. The fee request was based primarily on a retainer agreement providing for a 10 percent contingency fee, while counsel also submitted a lodestar calculation—a fee estimate based on hours worked and an hourly rate—of $39,320.

Court's Analysis

The court treated Pristine's factual allegations as true because of the settling defendants' default. It concluded that the settlement agreement authorized enforcement and a default judgment after the alleged breach. The court also determined that the agreement clearly allowed Pristine to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in the action and in enforcing or collecting under the agreement.

The court found that the requested $138,838.06 fee was higher than counsel's lodestar and that the settlement agreement did not show that the settling defendants had agreed to the specific 10 percent provision in counsel's retainer agreement. Although the court credited counsel's efforts, including extensive negotiations and efforts to preserve the settlement, it concluded that $75,000 was a reasonable fee. The requested $1,120 in costs was found reasonable.

Disposition

The court GRANTS Pristine's motion to enforce the Settlement Agreement and GRANTS IN PART the motion for attorney's fees and costs. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment in favor of Pristine and against Broner and About Billions for $1,388,330.63, plus $75,000 in attorney's fees and $1,120 in costs. The court did not resolve the status of the claims against Littlejohn in this order; instead, it directed Pristine to submit a letter about those claims by May 25, 2020. Judge Lewis J. Liman directed that the motion docket entry be closed.