Cherotti v. Exphand, Inc.
- Sarah Cave
- 1:20-cv-11102
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Cherotti v. Exphand, Judge Cave required supporting records for Cherotti’s requested attorneys’ fees and costs.
Timothy Cherotti, Exphand, Inc., and Frank Nemirofsky; the order imposed documentation and service requirements on Cherotti concerning his requested fees and costs.
What happened
In Cherotti v. Exphand, Inc., Timothy Cherotti asked the court to enter a default judgment against Exphand, Inc. and Frank Nemirofsky.
Cherotti later asked the court to include $160,666 in legal fees and expenses, but his filing did not include records made at the time showing the work performed or receipts for costs.
Judge Sarah L. Cave ordered Cherotti to submit detailed billing records and receipts by January 27, 2023, and to serve those filings on the defendants. The order did not state a ruling on the default-judgment motion or award the requested fees.
The detailed version
- Cherotti v. Exphand, Inc. · No. 1:20-cv-11102
- Sarah Cave
- Dec. 27, 2022
Background
On November 4, 2022, Timothy Cherotti moved for a default judgment against Exphand, Inc. and Frank Nemirofsky. On December 23, 2022, Cherotti supplemented that motion with an affidavit stating that he had incurred $160,666 in legal fees and expenses and asking the court to include that amount in a judgment against the defendants.
Requested Documentation
The affidavit did not include contemporaneous records supporting the requested attorneys’ fees. The court explained that a request for fees and costs must be documented with records made at the time, identifying for each attorney the date, hours worked, and nature of the work. The court also required receipts to support requested costs, rather than only entries in counsel’s billing records.
Order
Judge Sarah L. Cave ordered that, if Cherotti continued to seek attorneys’ fees, he must file a declaration from his counsel by January 27, 2023, attaching contemporaneous billing records with the required information. If he also sought costs, he had to submit contemporaneous receipts. Cherotti was also ordered to promptly serve the affidavit and declaration on the defendants and file proof of service by January 27, 2023. The excerpt does not state that the court granted or denied the default-judgment motion, and it does not award the requested fees or costs.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.