Webster-Colquhoun v. Colquhoun

Background

Novia S. Webster-Colquhoun filed a petition under the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act for the return of A.C. to Jamaica. She alleged that Robert R. Colquhoun had not returned A.C. to Jamaica after an agreed summer visit in New York. Colquhoun said he believed A.C. was safer in the United States because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The parties later agreed that Colquhoun would return A.C. to Jamaica. The court entered a Voluntary Return Order requiring the return and providing that future custody and visitation issues would be decided by courts in Jamaica. Webster-Colquhoun then moved for attorney’s fees and costs. Her attorneys represented her on a pro bono basis.

Prevailing-Party Status and Eligibility for Fees

The court held that Webster-Colquhoun was the prevailing party even though the return resulted from an agreement rather than a trial or judgment after contested proceedings. The Voluntary Return Order primarily represented a concession by Colquhoun: it required him to return A.C. to Jamaica and designated Jamaica as the child’s home state. The court found this situation more similar to a prior case in which a voluntary return supported prevailing-party status than to a case in which both parties received substantial concessions.

Under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act, a court ordering a child’s return generally must order the respondent to pay necessary expenses unless that award would be clearly inappropriate. The court found no countervailing equitable factors making an award clearly inappropriate. It considered Colquhoun’s stated COVID-19 concern, but found that explanation did not account for his failure to return A.C. for a year after the planned return date. The court also could not consider inability to pay because Colquhoun provided no information about his financial condition.

The court noted that Webster-Colquhoun alleged Colquhoun had physically abused her, but expressly treated that allegation only as an allegation and made no factual finding because the parties settled without a hearing. The court also held that Webster-Colquhoun’s use of pro bono counsel did not bar a fee award, although it supported reducing the award.

Calculation of the Award

The court used the lodestar method, which calculates a presumptively reasonable fee by multiplying a reasonable hourly rate by a reasonable number of hours. It approved the following hourly rates: $425 for Richard Min, $350 for Nancy Green, $325 for Michael Banuchis, $200 for Samantha Jacobson, and $175 for Sydney Goldstein. The court did not include 0.8 hours billed by an employee identified only as “EB” because the motion did not provide enough information about that person or the work performed.

The attorneys reported 47.3 hours of work. Webster-Colquhoun requested $12,553.33 in attorney’s fees after voluntarily reducing the reported fees. The court found that the hours were not excessive but applied a further two-thirds reduction because the representation was pro bono and the case settled quickly without a trial. The resulting attorney’s-fee award was $7,341.67. The court added $300 for a process server, producing a total award of $7,641.67.

Disposition

Judge Kenneth M. Karas granted in part the motion for attorney’s fees and costs. The court awarded Webster-Colquhoun $7,641.67, directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motion, and closed the case.