Weng v. Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen, Inc.
- Loretta Preska
- 1:17-cv-00273
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 6
In Weng v. Kung Fu, Judge Preska granted Troy Law Firm, PLLC $23,844 for defending plaintiffs’ Fair Labor Standards Act judgment on appeal.
Troy Law Firm, PLLC received an award of $23,844 in fees for appellate work performed for the plaintiffs; the opinion does not separately state an appellate-cost award.
What happened
Weng v. Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen, Inc. involved a request by Troy Law Firm, PLLC for fees and costs incurred while representing plaintiffs in an appeal. Plaintiffs had won a jury verdict, and the appeals court affirmed the judgment in full.
The court found that plaintiffs were entitled to fees for successfully defending the judgment. It found the lawyers’ hourly rates and time spent on the appeal reasonable.
Judge Loretta A. Preska granted the motion and awarded Troy Law Firm $23,844 in fees. She directed counsel to submit a proposed judgment and ordered the clerk to close the motion.
The detailed version
- Weng v. Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen, Inc. · No. 1:17-cv-00273
- Loretta Preska
- Apr. 20, 2023
Background
This Fair Labor Standards Act case resulted in a September 2021 judgment for the plaintiffs totaling $541,424.39. That amount included damages, interest, previously awarded attorney’s fees of $80,253.50, and costs of $5,169.93. The defendants appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment in its entirety on March 14, 2023.
Troy Law Firm, PLLC, which represented the plaintiffs, moved for attorney’s fees and costs for defending the judgment on appeal. The motion was unopposed.
Court’s analysis
The court treated the plaintiffs as prevailing parties because they had succeeded on a significant issue and obtained the benefit sought through the lawsuit. It explained that prevailing plaintiffs may receive reasonable fees for work needed to successfully defend a trial judgment on appeal.
The court found reasonable the requested hourly rate of $400 for Mr. Schweitzer and the hours he spent preparing the appellate brief and for oral argument. It also found reasonable both the $200 hourly rate for Preethi Kilaru’s legal-assistant-type work and the hours she worked on the appeal.
Disposition
Judge Loretta A. Preska granted the motion. The Troy Law Firm was awarded $23,844 in fees for defending the appeal. The court directed counsel to submit a form of judgment and ordered the clerk to close the motion.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.