Kane Jr. v. Endicott Meats, Inc.
- Andrew Carter
- 1:19-cv-00288
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 6
Kane Jr. v. Endicott Meats, Inc.: Judge Netburn granted plaintiffs’ fee motion, awarding $12,318.50.
The plaintiffs, trustees of the United Teamsters Pension Fund “A,” received an award of attorney’s fees and costs following their earlier summary-judgment victory against Endicott Volunteer Meats, Inc.
What happened
In Kane Jr. v. Endicott Meats, Inc., the plaintiffs sought attorney’s fees and costs after winning summary judgment against Endicott Volunteer Meats, Inc. The earlier judgment concerned unpaid pension-fund withdrawal liability.
The court reviewed the attorneys’ hourly rates and billing records. It reduced each attorney’s hours by 10 percent for time spent on unnecessary training and reduced the rate for some clerical work.
Judge Netburn granted the motion and awarded $11,575.50 in attorney’s fees and $743 in costs, for a total of $12,318.50. The court allowed the Clerk to close the case.
The detailed version
- Kane Jr. v. Endicott Meats, Inc. · No. 1:19-cv-00288
- Andrew Carter
- May 28, 2021
Background
The plaintiffs are trustees of the United Teamsters Pension Fund “A.” On January 21, 2021, Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. granted the plaintiffs’ unopposed motion for summary judgment on all counts against Endicott Volunteer Meats, Inc. The judgment found Endicott Volunteer jointly and severally liable for Endicott Meats’ failure to make withdrawal-liability payments to the pension fund, including $344,148, simple interest, and liquidated damages. The judgment also made Endicott Volunteer liable for the plaintiffs’ reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
The plaintiffs then moved for attorney’s fees and costs. The motion was unopposed, and Judge Carter referred it to Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn for resolution.
Attorney’s Fees
Under Section 502(g) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, prevailing plaintiffs may receive reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. The court calculated the presumptively reasonable fee by considering reasonable hourly rates and reasonable hours worked. The plaintiffs requested $12,900 for work by three attorneys at Dealy Silberstein & Braverman: Marc D. Braverman, Erica Weser, and Alexandra Elias.
The court found the requested hourly rates reasonable. It determined, however, that numerous entries describing emails and meetings between Mr. Braverman and the two associates reflected training that was not necessary to prosecute the case. Because the records combined training with other tasks, the court reduced each attorney’s hours by 10 percent. The court also treated some of Ms. Elias’s work as clerical and reduced the hourly rate for that work from $175 to $100.
The resulting fee awards were $6,691.50 for Mr. Braverman, $1,666.50 for Ms. Elias, and $3,217.50 for Ms. Weser, totaling $11,575.50.
Costs and Disposition
The plaintiffs also requested $743 in costs: $400 in filing fees and $343 for service of process on the four defendants. The court found those costs reasonable.
Judge Netburn granted the plaintiffs’ motion. The total award was $11,575.50 in attorney’s fees plus $743 in costs, or $12,318.50. The Clerk of Court was permitted to grant the motion at docket entries 56 and 57 and close the case.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.