S.J. v. New York City Department of Education
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:20-cv-01922
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In S.J. v. New York City Department of Education, Judge Schofield increased attorneys’ fees to $32,116 and closed the action.
The plaintiff received an increased attorneys’ fee award, and the New York City Department of Education was the opposing party to the fee request.
What happened
In S.J. v. New York City Department of Education, the court considered the plaintiff’s request for additional attorneys’ fees for preparing objections to an earlier report and recommendation. The plaintiff requested $2,934, and the defendant objected, arguing that the request should be substantially reduced or denied.
The court found that the requested time was too high and applied the same 50% reduction it had used for other federal-court fee hours. It also excluded time billed for work related to a potential appeal.
Judge Schofield modified the earlier award by adding $1,388 in attorneys’ fees. The final award was $32,116 in fees and $582.76 in costs, plus post-judgment interest, and the clerk was directed to enter judgment and close the action.
The detailed version
- S.J. v. New York City Department of Education · No. 1:20-cv-01922
- Lorna Schofield
- Jan. 26, 2021
Background
This amended order corrected a typographical error in the court’s January 25, 2021, order. The court had previously awarded the plaintiff $30,728.00 in attorneys’ fees and $582.76 in costs, for a total of $31,310.76, plus post-judgment interest at the applicable statutory rate.
The plaintiff then submitted an invoice seeking an additional $2,934.00 for work preparing objections to an earlier report and recommendation. The defendant objected and argued that the requested compensation should be substantially reduced or denied.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that fee awards may exclude hours that are excessive, redundant, or unnecessary. It also noted that a court may use a percentage reduction to remove unnecessary time from a fee request and that a fee dispute should not become a second major litigation.
The court applied the same 50% reduction previously used for attorney hours billed in the federal litigation. It also excluded 0.3 hours billed by Andrew Cuddy and 0.3 hours billed by Benjamin Kopp on January 13, 2021, for work related to a potential appeal.
The court calculated the additional fees as follows:
- Andrew Cuddy: $288.00 after reducing the compensable time to 0.8 hours. - Benjamin Kopp: $1,050.00 after reducing the compensable time to 5.25 hours. - Shobna Cuddy: $50.00. - Total additional fees: $1,388.00.
Ruling and Disposition
Judge Lorna G. Schofield modified the January 12, 2021, Opinion and Order to include an additional $1,388.00 in attorneys’ fees. The plaintiff was awarded $32,116.00 in attorneys’ fees and $582.76 in costs, for a total award of $32,698.76, plus post-judgment interest at the applicable statutory rate.
The clerk was directed to enter judgment in favor of the plaintiff and close the action. Because the order concerns an attorneys’ fee award ancillary to the underlying litigation, this summary classifies it as a procedural order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.