Sagax Development Corp. v. ITrust S.A.
- Willis
- 1:19-cv-03386
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
Sagax v. ITrust: Judge Willis granted in part and denied in part Sagax’s fee motion, ordering ITrust—not Mayer Brown—to pay $41,235.
Sagax receives $41,235 from ITrust. ITrust is responsible for paying the award. Mayer Brown LLP is not responsible for the attorneys’ fees awarded.
What happened
In Sagax Development Corp. v. ITrust S.A., Sagax asked for $56,416.25 in attorneys’ fees after ITrust willfully failed to follow a court ruling and order concerning interrogatories. The earlier sanctions ruling authorized fees connected only to that failure.
The court found the partner’s $970 hourly rate reasonable but reduced the associate’s rate from $815 to $675. It also cut the billed hours because some work concerned preparing interrogatories and responses rather than ITrust’s failure to comply.
Judge Willis granted in part and denied in part Sagax’s motion. The court ordered ITrust to pay Sagax $41,235 and ruled that Mayer Brown, ITrust’s counsel, was not responsible for the award.
The detailed version
- Sagax Development Corp. v. ITrust S.A. · No. 1:19-cv-03386
- Willis
- July 11, 2022
Background
Sagax moved for attorneys’ fees after an earlier sanctions ruling found that ITrust’s failure to comply with an April 20, 2021 ruling and April 21, 2021 order was willful and in bad faith. That ruling authorized an award of attorneys’ fees solely for work connected with ITrust’s failure to comply. Sagax then sought $56,416.25 from ITrust and Mayer Brown LLP, ITrust’s counsel.
Hourly Rates
The court applied the lodestar method, which calculates a presumptively reasonable fee by multiplying reasonable hours by reasonable hourly rates. The court approved the $970 hourly rate for the partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP. It reduced the associate’s rate from $815 to $675 because the information provided did not establish that the associate was senior enough to justify the higher rate, although the court recognized that the case involved complex issues of foreign law.
Hours
The court determined that some of McDermott’s recorded time concerned Sagax’s preparation of interrogatories and responses to ITrust’s interrogatories, rather than ITrust’s noncompliance. It therefore reduced the partner’s hours by 19.23% and the associate’s hours by 14.41%. The reductions resulted in 10.5 compensable partner hours and 46 compensable associate hours.
Responsibility for the Award
The court rejected Sagax’s request for fees from Mayer Brown. The earlier sanctions ruling did not state or suggest that Mayer Brown’s conduct warranted a fee award, and Sagax’s fee motion did not support imposing liability on the firm. Only ITrust was held responsible for the awarded fees.
Disposition
Judge Loraufe E. Willis granted in part and denied in part Sagax’s motion for attorneys’ fees and ordered ITrust to pay Sagax $41,235.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.