Roman Maria v. Rouge Tomate Chelsea LLC
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:18-cv-09826
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Roman Maria v. Rouge Tomate Chelsea LLC, Judge Broderick awarded plaintiffs $8,195 in fees and $869.72 in costs and closed the case.
The plaintiffs were awarded attorneys’ fees and costs; the order also directed that the case be closed.
What happened
In Roman Maria v. Rouge Tomate Chelsea LLC, the court had already entered a default judgment for the plaintiffs and sent the question of damages to a judge for review. That judge recommended denying attorneys’ fees because the plaintiffs had not adequately shown that their invoice was based on time records made as the work occurred.
The plaintiffs objected and asked for either one-third of their total recovery or a larger fee based on the billing records. Judge Broderick later allowed them to submit evidence showing that the invoice used contemporaneous time records. Their lawyer then submitted a sworn declaration and two exhibits.
Judge Broderick ruled that the sworn declaration was enough. He awarded the plaintiffs $8,195 in attorneys’ fees and $869.72 in costs, directed the clerk to terminate open motions, and ordered the case closed.
The detailed version
- Roman Maria v. Rouge Tomate Chelsea LLC · No. 1:18-cv-09826
- Vernon Broderick
- Mar. 22, 2021
Background
On May 20, 2020, the court awarded the plaintiffs a default judgment against the defendants and referred the case for an inquiry into damages. On October 14, 2020, the judge conducting that inquiry recommended that the plaintiffs receive no attorneys’ fees because they had not submitted competent evidence showing that their invoice was based on contemporaneously made time records.
The plaintiffs objected. They argued that they were entitled to attorneys’ fees and asked the court either to award fees equal to one-third of the total recovery or to apply a multiplier of two or three to the amount calculated from their billing records.
Additional Evidence
On February 25, 2021, the court overruled the plaintiffs’ objection but invited them to submit, by March 19, evidence that the invoice was based on contemporaneous time records. The plaintiffs submitted a declaration and two exhibits from their counsel, Michael Faillace. He stated that the invoice reflected contemporaneous time records for work performed in the case.
Ruling
The court found that the sworn declaration was sufficient to establish that the invoice was based on contemporaneous time records. Judge Vernon S. Broderick therefore ordered that the plaintiffs be awarded $8,195 in attorneys’ fees and $869.72 in costs. The clerk was directed to terminate any open motions and close the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.