Bowman v. Chambers

District Court, E.D. Missouri·Decided November 30, 2022·No. 4:21-cv-01406·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION

JOHN BOWMAN, et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) BECKY ARPS, et al., ) ) Consolidated Plaintiffs ) Case No. 4:21-CV-1406 NAB ) v. ) ) ROBERT L. CHAMBERS, et al., ) ) Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This matter is pending before the Court on Motions for Attorney’s Fees and Costs filed by Plaintiffs Bowman, et al., (“the Bowman Plaintiffs”) (Doc. 85), Plaintiffs Arps, et al., (“the Arps Plaintiffs”) (Doc. 88) and Consolidated Plaintiff Days1 (Doc. 89). Intervenor St. Louis County filed a response in opposition (Doc. 93). Days filed a supplemental motion for attorney’s fees (Doc. 97). Plaintiffs Bowman and Arps each filed replies to the Intervenor’s response. (Docs. 98, 99.) The parties consented to the jurisdiction of the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). BACKGROUND This case arose from a lawsuit by the Bowman Plaintiffs and the Arps Plaintiffs seeking to have the Court (1) declare that the current Council District boundaries were in violation of the requirements of the United States Constitution and the Missouri Constitution; and (2) reapportion the Council Districts such that St. Louis County was divided into seven districts that were

1 Rita Heard Days is named as one of the Arps Plaintiffs, however she was also represented in this case by attorney Jane Dueker. composed of contiguous territory as compact and nearly equal in population as possible. The parties requested an expedited schedule, a bench trial, and for the Court to issue a decision before the first day for filing a Declaration of Candidacy for the 2022 election to the St. Louis County Council. After a one-day trial, the Court found that the current St. Louis County, Missouri

Council Districts violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of Missouri. The Court then entered an order adopting its own redistricting plan, which did not adopt any plans proposed by the parties. The Court determined its plan met all federal and state constitutional requirements. The parties now seek to recover attorneys’ fees from the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners and St. Louis County. The Bowman Plaintiffs are requesting attorneys’ fees in the amount of $187,974.00 and costs in the amount of $11,864.45. The Arps Plaintiffs are requesting attorneys’ fees in the amount of $93,180.002 and costs of $8,263.25. Plaintiff Days is requesting attorney’s fees in the amount of $ 32,062.003 and costs of $4,044.57. After the Court granted St. Louis County’s Motion to Intervene the County filed a

response to Plaintiffs’ motion for fees and costs. (Doc. 93.) The County did not dispute that the Plaintiffs are prevailing parties entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees. Instead, the County argued that the amount of hours and rates submitted by Plaintiffs’ counsel are not reasonable, considering that this case is nearly identical to previous lawsuits. DISCUSSION I. Standard of Review Plaintiffs brought their claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988. Under 42 U.S.C. §

2 The Arps Plaintiffs’ counsel initially estimated $87,115 in attorneys’ fees and later supplemented his motion to provide time records reflecting $93,180.00 in attorneys’ fees sought. 3 Plaintiff Days’ counsel initially estimated $29,520.00 in attorneys’ fees and later supplemented her motion to provide time records reflecting $32,062.00 in attorneys’ fees sought. 2 1988(b), in an action under § 1983, “the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party . . . a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs . . . .” A prevailing party in a civil rights action should ordinarily recover such attorneys’ fees unless special circumstances render an award unjust. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 429 (1983). To determine the amount of reasonable attorneys’

fees, courts employ the “lodestar” method and multiply the number of hours reasonably expended with a reasonable hourly rate. Id. at 433; Corbett v. Sullivan, 353 F.3d 628, 630 (8th Cir. 2003). In making this determination, courts consider twelve factors: (1) the time and labor required; (2) the novelty and difficulty of the questions; (3) the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly; (4) the preclusion of employment by the attorney due to acceptance of the case; (5) the customary fee; (6) whether the fee is fixed or contingent; (7) time limitations imposed by the client or the circumstances; (8) the amount involved and the results obtained; (9) the experience, reputation, and ability of the attorneys; (10) the “undesirability” of the case; (11) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client; and (12) awards in similar cases.

Hensley, 461 U.S. at 430 n.3. “[T]he burden is on the fee applicant to produce satisfactory evidence—in addition to the attorney’s own affidavits—that the requested rates are in line with those prevailing in the community for similar services by lawyers of reasonably comparable skill, experience, and reputation.” Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 895 n.11 (1984). Only those hours that were “reasonably expended” should be included in the initial fee amount. Hensley, 461 U.S. at 434. Hours must not be excessive, redundant, or unnecessary; put differently, “[h]ours that are not properly billed to one’s client also are not properly billed to one’s adversary pursuant to statutory authority.” Brown v. Jacobsen, 2022 WL 2452230, at *5 (D. Mont. July 6, 2022). All plaintiffs in this case are entitled to reasonable fees and expenses as prevailing parties to the litigation. 52 U.S.C. § 10310(e); 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b); Texas State Teachers Ass’n v. 3 Garland Independent School District, 489 U.S. 782 (1989); Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. at 429. Therefore, St. Louis County, by way of the taxpayers, must pay the reasonable fees and expenses of the litigation. II. The Parties’ Submissions

In determining the reasonableness of the fees sought by each set of Plaintiffs, I considered the aforementioned factors and the materials submitted by counsel. The Bowman Plaintiffs lead attorney Gerald Greiman has submitted a Declaration seeking compensation for 171.3 hours of his time at an hourly rate of $630, 191.7 hours for attorney Thomas Hayde at an hourly rate of $470, and 41.7 hours for paralegal Melanie Cummins at an hourly rate of $260. (Dec. of Gerald P. Greiman, Doc. 86.) The Arps Plaintiffs’ lead attorney Jack Spooner submitted an affidavit seeking compensation for 171 hours of his time at an hourly rate of $485 or $495, and 29 hours of time for attorney Christopher Johnson at an hourly rate of $310. (Aff. of Jack B. Spooner, Doc. 88-1, Doc. 91-1.) Ms. Days’ attorney Jane Dueker submitted an affidavit seeking compensation for 78.2 hours of her time at an hourly rate of $410. (Aff. of Jane E.

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