Nnebe v. Daus

Background

The order concerns related civil-rights actions involving plaintiffs’ challenges to the procedures used to suspend taxi licenses. In the earlier litigation, plaintiffs claimed that the suspension process violated constitutional due-process rights. After extensive proceedings, including summary-judgment motions, a bench trial, and appeals, the Second Circuit ruled in 2019 that the post-suspension hearing process was constitutionally deficient. The district court later granted in part and denied in part plaintiffs’ request for permanent injunctive relief, finding that changes to the procedures satisfied due process but ordering the defendants to speed up the process.

Plaintiffs moved for interim attorneys’ fees and costs under 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b), covering work from the start of the litigation in 2006 through the Second Circuit’s 2019 decision. They also sought fees for preparing the fee motion. The parties did not dispute that plaintiffs were prevailing parties or that they were entitled to an interim award. They disputed the reasonableness of the requested hourly rates, hours, and costs.

Hourly Rates and Hours

The court used the lodestar method, which calculates a presumptively reasonable fee by multiplying reasonable hourly rates by the reasonable hours worked. It approved rates of $650 per hour for David Goldberg and $450 per hour for Daniel Ackman. It approved rates ranging from $550 to $125 per hour for Fried Frank attorneys and staff, depending on each person’s experience and work.

Plaintiffs initially sought compensation for more than 6,000 hours of work through the 2019 appeal. The court found that a reduction was appropriate because some time records contained errors, including duplicate entries; some entries used block billing or were vague; and some litigation efforts were unsuccessful or wasteful. The court rejected defendants’ proposed 30-to-50-percent reduction and instead reduced the claimed hours by 15 percent. The court generally rejected objections to time spent preparing for a jury trial, attending the bench trial, and sending letters to the court.

Costs and Fees for the Fee Motion

The court awarded $26,947.78 of the costs claimed by Daniel Ackman and $9,466.28 of the costs claimed by Fried Frank, for total costs of $36,414.06. It excluded certain appellate charges, filing fees, an unsupported charge, and filing fees for unsuccessful appeals in the Stallworth action. It allowed Fried Frank’s itemized expenses even though some lacked receipts.

Plaintiffs also sought approximately $150,175.50 for 328.5 hours spent preparing the fee motion. The court found that the request was excessive in part because of duplicative work and extensive research on a well-established area of law. It reduced those hours by 30 percent and applied the approved hourly rates, resulting in a fee award of $96,400.50.

Disposition

Judge Richard J. Sullivan, a circuit judge sitting by designation, granted in part and denied in part plaintiffs’ motion for attorneys’ fees. The court awarded $2,453,986.00 in attorneys’ fees for work through the 2019 appeal, $96,400.50 for work on the fee motion, and $36,414.06 in costs. The court directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the pending fee motion in both actions.