Ramos v. Guaba Deli Grocery Corp.
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:20-cv-04904
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Ramos v. Guaba Deli Grocery Corp., Judge Cott granted plaintiffs’ fee motion, awarding $13,740 in attorneys’ fees and $1,724.65 in costs.
The plaintiffs in Ramos v. Guaba Deli Grocery Corp. were awarded $13,740.00 in attorneys’ fees and $1,724.65 in litigation costs; the opinion does not specify how the award is allocated among the plaintiffs or defendants.
What happened
In Ramos v. Guaba Deli Grocery Corp., the plaintiffs asked the court to award them attorneys’ fees and litigation costs after previously winning summary judgment in their wage-and-hour case against all defendants except Jose Castillo.
The plaintiffs requested $13,740 in attorneys’ fees for work by David Stein and David Nieporent, plus $1,724.65 in costs. The defendants did not oppose the motion. The requested costs covered filing fees, service of process, deposition reporting, and interpreter services.
The court found the attorneys’ rates and hours reasonable and awarded the plaintiffs the full amounts requested. Judge Cott granted the motion and awarded $13,740 in fees and $1,724.65 in costs.
The detailed version
- Ramos v. Guaba Deli Grocery Corp. · No. 1:20-cv-04904
- Paul Engelmayer
- Mar. 1, 2022
Background
On November 29, 2021, the court granted summary judgment for the plaintiffs against all defendants except Jose Castillo in this Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law wage-and-hour case. The court directed the plaintiffs to submit materials supporting a later request for attorneys’ fees and costs. The plaintiffs then moved for those fees and costs, and the defendants filed no opposition.
The opinion states that prevailing plaintiffs may recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs under both the FLSA and New York Labor Law. The court used the standard of a “presumptively reasonable fee,” meaning a reasonable hourly rate multiplied by a reasonable number of hours, supported by time records describing the date, time spent, and work performed.
Attorneys’ Fees
The plaintiffs requested $13,740 in fees for 6.6 hours of work by David Stein and 34.2 hours of work by David Nieporent. Stein requested an hourly rate of $425, and Nieporent requested an hourly rate of $325. The court found both rates reasonable based on the attorneys’ experience and prior decisions approving the same rates. The records also showed that Stein and Nieporent reduced their rates to $125 per hour for work of a basic character.
After reviewing the records, the court found that the listed tasks—including depositions and a contested summary-judgment motion—were necessary, reasonably timed, and appropriate for the case. It therefore awarded the full requested fee of $13,740.00.
Costs and Disposition
The plaintiffs also requested $1,724.65 in costs: $400 in filing fees, $323.60 for service of process, $641.05 for deposition court-reporting services, and $360 for interpreter services. The court found these costs documented and consistent with prior awards.
The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion, awarded $13,740.00 in attorneys’ fees and $1,724.65 in costs, and directed the Clerk to close the motion at Docket No. 45 and mark it as granted. The opinion was signed by James L. Cott, United States Magistrate Judge.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.