Calderon v. 919 Prospect Avenue LLC
- James Oetken
- 1:22-cv-00096
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Calderon v. 919 Prospect Avenue LLC, Judge Oetken awarded Jose Calderon and Emily Rice $3,750 for discovery-related attorney’s fees.
Plaintiffs Jose Calderon and Emily Rice were awarded $3,750, and the defendants were ordered to pay that amount for the plaintiffs’ discovery-related attorney’s fees.
What happened
In Calderon v. 919 Prospect Avenue LLC, Jose Calderon and Emily Rice sought attorney’s fees and expenses after the defendants repeatedly failed to comply with discovery obligations in this Fair Labor Standards Act case. The court had already granted the request for fees and asked the parties to address the amount.
The plaintiffs requested $3,750 for 15 hours of attorney Michael Diller’s work at $250 per hour. The defendants argued that both the hourly rate and the 15 hours were excessive. The court found the rate reasonable and noted that the plaintiffs had initially reported 21.7 hours, making the requested 15 hours reasonable as well.
Judge Oetken granted the plaintiffs’ letter motion for discovery fees and expenses. He ordered the defendants to pay the plaintiffs $3,750 and directed the Clerk to close the related docket entry.
The detailed version
- Calderon v. 919 Prospect Avenue LLC · No. 1:22-cv-00096
- James Oetken
- July 27, 2023
Background
This Fair Labor Standards Act case involved the plaintiffs’ request for attorney’s fees and expenses under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(5)(A). That rule can require a party that fails to comply with discovery obligations to pay expenses caused by that failure. The court had granted the plaintiffs’ request for fees during a July 5, 2023 telephone conference, but required further submissions about the amount.
The dispute concerned compensation for Michael Diller, the plaintiffs’ attorney, for time spent addressing the defendants’ discovery noncompliance. The plaintiffs requested $3,750 for 15 hours at an hourly rate of $250. The defendants argued that a reasonable rate in the Southern District of New York was between $150 and $200 and that 15 hours was excessive.
Court’s Analysis
The court found that the $250 hourly rate was reasonable. It cited other Fair Labor Standards Act cases in which courts approved hourly rates of $275 for less-experienced attorneys, as well as a case involving a different type of claim in which a $250 rate was approved.
The court also gave independent weight to the plaintiffs’ earlier submission stating that Diller had spent 21.7 hours addressing the defendants’ discovery obligations. Because the defendants did not respond to that point, the court treated it as conceded. The plaintiffs sought payment for only 15 hours, which was 5.7 hours fewer than the hours they reported. The court stated that this effectively placed the requested compensation near the $150-to-$200 range that the defendants themselves described as reasonable.
The court rejected the defendants’ argument that 15 hours was excessive. It relied on its previous finding that the defendants had repeatedly failed to participate in discovery and maintain reliable contact with the plaintiffs. According to the court, those failures shifted discovery-related work to Diller, and the plaintiffs had filed three motions and sought an additional order requiring the defendants to pay attorney’s fees.
Ruling
Judge J. Paul Oetken granted the plaintiffs’ Letter Motion for Discovery Fees and Expenses. The defendants were ordered to pay the plaintiffs $3,750. The Clerk of Court was directed to close docket entry 67.
Classification
This is a procedural order because it awards fees for discovery-related conduct rather than deciding the underlying Fair Labor Standards Act claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.