Summary
finding 150 hours claimed to defend an appeal excessive
Summary of this case from Wilson v. Department of Children FamiliesOpinion
Case No. 6:03-cv-1170-Orl-22DAB.
January 23, 2007
ORDER
This cause comes before the Court for consideration of Magistrate Judge David A. Baker's initial Report and Recommendation ("R R") regarding attorneys' fees (Doc. 86), Judge Baker's Supplement to that R R (Doc. 92), and the Objections thereto filed by Defendant America Online, Inc. ("AOL") (Docs. 89 93).
AOL's objections are without merit. As Judge Baker found in both R Rs, AOL failed to meet its burden of apportioning the fees attributable to its civil theft claim, as distinguished from its other claims. Had AOL done so, rather than, as Judge Baker put it, "blind[ly] insist[ing] that it is entitled to all fees," Doc. 92 at 10, the award for work done in the district court would be considerably higher than $7,000.00. Additionally, the Magistrate Judge correctly reduced the fee award for appellate work to $11,000.00. Like Judge Baker, the undersigned judge finds it "astounding" that three attorneys and a paralegal devoted 77-plus hours to preparing for and attending oral argument, given the relatively non-complex nature of this case. Finally, the Court concludes that Judge Baker's determination of a blended hourly rate was not erroneous.
Based on the foregoing, it is ORDERED as follows:
1. The October 4, 2006 Report and Recommendation (Doc. 86) and the November 29, 2006 Supplement to Report and Recommendation (Doc. 92) are APPROVED AND ADOPTED.
2. Defendant America Online, Inc.'s Objections (Docs. 89 93), filed on October 18 and December 13, 2006, are OVERRULED.
3. Defendant America Online, Inc.'s Renewed Motion for Attorneys' Fees (Doc. 84), filed on August 17, 2006, is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.
4. Defendant American Online, Inc. is HEREBY AWARDED attorneys' fees against Plaintiff Action Security Service, Inc. in the amount of $18,000.00.
DONE and ORDERED in Chambers, in Orlando, Florida.