G&G Closed Circuit Events, LLC v. Llanos

Background

G&G Closed Circuit Events, LLC sued Nelly R. Llanos and Restaurant Polleria El Tumi under 47 U.S.C. §§ 553 and 605. The defendants did not answer after being served. The court issued certificates of default and later approved a $7,500 default judgment at an April 16, 2021 hearing, but delayed entering it while reviewing the plaintiff’s application for attorneys’ fees and costs.

The plaintiff then moved for $1,247.36 in attorneys’ fees and $1,820 in costs. The costs included the complaint filing fee, service-of-process fees, and investigative expenses.

Attorneys’ Fees

The court explained that Second Circuit law generally requires a lawyer seeking court-ordered compensation to submit contemporaneous time records—records made as the work is performed. The plaintiff instead submitted billing hours reconstructed from a later review of its files. The court found this insufficient and declined to award attorneys’ fees.

The plaintiff argued that exceptions to the contemporaneous-record requirement applied, that it should receive an opportunity to explain its records, and that court filings could establish some compensable time. The court rejected each argument. The submission did not show that the lawyer had kept at least some contemporaneous records or that records had been destroyed, and the plaintiff did not provide relevant docket entries or other court records. The submission also lacked a time entry for counsel’s attendance at the default-judgment hearing.

Costs

The court awarded $400 for the complaint filing fee and $197.36 for process-server fees, finding those amounts adequately supported by the docket and invoices. The total award for these costs was $597.36.

The court did not decide whether Section 605 permits recovery of investigative costs because the plaintiff had not adequately documented them. The investigator’s invoice did not provide details about the investigator’s qualifications, time spent, or the reasonableness of the fees. The court therefore declined to reimburse the investigative expenses.

Disposition

Judge Kenneth M. Karas granted in part and denied in part the plaintiff’s Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs. The plaintiff received $597.36 in costs. The court declined to award attorneys’ fees and investigative costs. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion and, consistent with the default judgment entered the same date, close the case.