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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Feb. 3, 2023

Drywall Tapers and Pointers of Greater New York Local Union 1974 v. National…

Full caption

Drywall Tapers and Pointers of Greater New York Local Union 1974, Affiliated with International Union of Allied Painters and Allied Trades, AFL-CIO v. National Drywall Inc.

Judge
Jesse Furman
Docket
1:22-cv-10820
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
ArbitrationFee PetitionCivil Procedure
In one sentence

In Drywall Tapers v. National Drywall, Judge Furman entered a $5,922 judgment after confirming an arbitration award and reducing requested attorney fees.

Who this affects

The petitioner, Drywall Tapers and Pointers of Greater New York Local Union 1974, received a $5,922 judgment against National Drywall Inc., including the confirmed arbitration award, reduced attorney fees, and costs.

What happened

In Drywall Tapers and Pointers of Greater New York Local Union 1974 v. National Drywall Inc., the court had already granted the union’s unopposed request to confirm the entire arbitration award but had postponed deciding attorney fees and costs because the union had not supported that request.

The union later submitted a statement of fees and costs with time records. The court found the requested hourly rate of $300 reasonable but found the number of hours unreasonable. It reduced the attorney-fee amount by 20 percent and found the requested costs reasonable.

Judge Jesse M. Furman entered judgment for the union in the amount of $5,922: $3,000 for the arbitration award, $2,400 in attorney fees, and $522 in costs. The clerk was directed to enter judgment and close the case.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Drywall Tapers and Pointers of Greater New York Local Union 1974 v. National… · No. 1:22-cv-10820
Judge
Jesse Furman
Date
Feb. 3, 2023

Background

On January 27, 2023, the Court granted the petitioner’s unopposed petition to confirm the entire arbitral award. An arbitral award is a decision issued by an arbitrator. The Court reserved judgment on attorney fees and costs because the petitioner had not provided supporting materials.

The petitioner later submitted an affirmation detailing its fees and costs, along with contemporaneous time records. The Court stated that it could reduce individual time entries or make a reasonable percentage reduction to remove unreasonable charges from a fee request.

Ruling

The Court found counsel’s hourly rate of $300 reasonable but found the total hours unreasonable. As one example, it cited the claimed 1.6 hours for preparing and electronically filing a proposed judgment, which it considered plainly excessive. The Court reduced the attorney-fee request by 20 percent and separately found the requested costs reasonable.

The Court ordered judgment for the petitioner against the respondent in the liquidated amount of $5,922. The amount consisted of a $3,000 arbitral award, $2,400 in attorney fees, and $522 in costs. Judge Jesse M. Furman directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment for the petitioner and close the case.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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