Taveras v. New York City, New York

Background

Alan Taveras sued the City of New York under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law that allows claims against state or local actors for violating federal rights. He alleged that the City violated his Second Amendment rights. Amy L. Bellantoni of the Bellantoni Law Firm, PLLC represented Taveras and filed the fee request under 42 U.S.C. § 1988, which permits attorney-fee awards in qualifying civil-rights cases.

Bellantoni initially sought payment for 142.4 hours at $650 per hour and $2,759.59 in costs, for a total request of $95,319.59. The City did not dispute that some fees and costs were warranted. It argued that the award should instead be $29,823.75 after various reductions.

Court’s analysis

The court rejected the City’s request for an across-the-board reduction of at least 50% based on limited success. Although the litigation did not invalidate any New York law, the court found that Bellantoni obtained substantial relief for Taveras, including a $10,001 offer of judgment and a firearm license. The court also concluded that the unsuccessful requests for broader injunctive relief shared facts or legal theories with the successful work, so that work could be included in the fee award.

The court accepted Bellantoni’s reduction of administrative-appeal time to 1.35 hours because the remaining time related to the federal litigation. It awarded compensation for 1.45 hours of clerical work but reduced the rate for that work to $100 per hour. It applied a 0.4-hour reduction for time Bellantoni voluntarily withdrew for reviewing court notifications, but made no further reduction for reviewing emails because the entries reflected modest amounts of time spent on necessary tasks.

The court deducted 5.5 hours spent preparing a preliminary-injunction motion that was never filed, as Bellantoni agreed to that reduction. It also awarded fees for 6.1 hours of travel at half the attorney rate. Although Bellantoni voluntarily reduced her requested rate from $650 to $575, the court set the attorney rate at $450 per hour after considering her prior $400-per-hour award, her additional experience, and prevailing rates for civil-rights attorneys in the Southern District of New York.

The court rejected fees for preparing the fee motion itself. The Rule 68 offer of judgment provided $10,001 exclusive of attorney fees, expenses, and costs through the date of the offer. Relying on Second Circuit authority, the court held that the offer’s cutoff prevented an award for work performed afterward, including work preparing the fee application.

Disposition

Judge Arun Subramanian awarded Bellantoni 125.45 hours at $450 per hour, totaling $56,452.50; 1.45 hours at $100 per hour, totaling $145; 6.1 hours at $225 per hour, totaling $1,372.50; and $2,759.59 in costs. The total award was $60,729.59. The court directed the Clerk of Court to terminate Docket 79.