Russell v. Westchester Community College
- Philip Halpern
- 7:16-cv-01712
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 8
In Russell v. Westchester Community College, Judge Davison granted defendants’ fee application in part and awarded $37,427.26 for fees and costs.
The order awards Westchester Community College, the County of Westchester, Veronica Delcourt, and Heather Ostman $37,427.26 and requires Suzan Russell to reimburse that amount under the earlier sanctions order.
What happened
Russell v. Westchester Community College concerns defendants’ request for reimbursement after an earlier order required Suzan Russell to pay reasonable fees and costs connected to a motion to compel in Texas and a sanctions motion. Defendants requested $56,750 in fees and $2,034.70 in costs.
Russell opposed the request, arguing that the lawyers’ hourly rates and the number of hours were unreasonable. The court found the requested hourly rates reasonable but reduced the compensable hours because some time was unrelated to the specified motions and because the sanctions motion had been denied in part. The court also made a small reduction to the requested costs.
Judge Davison granted defendants’ fee application in part and awarded $35,393 in fees and $2,034.26 in costs, for a total award of $37,427.26. The court rejected Russell’s unsupported claim that she could not pay the award.
The detailed version
- Russell v. Westchester Community College · No. 7:16-cv-01712
- Philip Halpern
- June 29, 2022
Background
In an earlier decision dated March 11, 2022, the court granted defendants’ motion for sanctions in part and ordered Suzan Russell to reimburse defendants for reasonable fees and costs incurred in connection with a Texas motion to compel and the sanctions motion. Defendants then sought $56,750 in fees and $2,034.70 in costs, for a requested total of $58,784.70.
Defendants based the fee request on 100.50 hours claimed for attorney Irma Cosgriff at $450 per hour and 115.25 hours claimed for legal intern Cecilia Olivia at $100 per hour. The time records, however, documented 101.25 hours for Cosgriff and 95 hours for Olivia. Using the documented hours, the court calculated an initial lodestar—the reasonable hours multiplied by the reasonable hourly rate—of $55,062.
Hourly Rates
The court found Cosgriff’s $450 hourly rate reasonable based on her experience and expertise. It also found Olivia’s $100 hourly rate reasonable. Russell argued that the rates should be reduced, but the court rejected those arguments.
Compensable Hours
The court found that the hours worked were reasonable but reduced the number of compensable hours. It excluded 15 hours Cosgriff spent before the deadline for compliance with the subpoena because those hours were unrelated to the Texas motion to compel. It also excluded 4.25 hours spent on ordinary discovery or other matters not directly related to the two motions. Because defendants’ sanctions motion had been denied in part, the court reduced the hours associated with that motion by 45 percent.
After those reductions, the court allowed 63.44 hours for Cosgriff and 68.45 hours for Olivia. At the approved hourly rates, the resulting fee award was $28,548 for Cosgriff and $6,845 for Olivia, totaling $35,393 in attorney’s fees.
Costs and Disposition
Russell did not oppose the requested costs. The court found the costs reasonable but corrected a small mathematical error, awarding $2,034.26 in costs. The court also rejected Russell’s argument that she should not have to pay because she lacked the money, explaining that she provided no supporting evidence.
The court granted defendants’ application for fees and costs in part and awarded defendants a total of $37,427.26, consisting of $35,393 in attorney’s fees and $2,034.26 in costs.
Read the full 8-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.