Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Autozone, Inc.

934 F. Supp. 2d 342, 2013 WL 1277873, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45720
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedMarch 29, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 10-11648-WGY
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 934 F. Supp. 2d 342 (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Autozone, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Autozone, Inc., 934 F. Supp. 2d 342, 2013 WL 1277873, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45720 (D. Mass. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WILLIAM G. YOUNG, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This pending motion for attorneys’ fees of intervenor plaintiff Frank Mahoney Burroughs (“Mahoney Burroughs”) follows a settlement and consent decree between the plaintiff Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “Commission”), Mahoney Burroughs, and the defendants AutoZone, Inc. and AutoZoners, LLC (collectively, “AutoZone”).

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The Commission commenced the underlying civil rights action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) on behalf of Mahoney Burroughs against AutoZone, Compl. Jury Trial Demand (“Compl.”), ECF No. 1, and Mahoney Burroughs moved to intervene, alleging violations of Title VII and Massachusetts General Laws chapter 151B, section 4 (“Chapter 151B”), Mot. Intervene Frank Mahoney Burroughs,. ECF No. 4; Am. Mot. 'Intervene Frank Mahoney Burroughs, ECF No. 10. The Court granted Mahoney Burroughs’s motion to intervene. Elec. Order, Dec. 22, 2010. All of the parties moved for summary judgment. PL & Intervenor PL’s Mot. Partial Summ. J., ECF No. 33; Defs.’ Mot. Summ. J., ECF No.' 41. This Court granted summary judgment for the Commission and Mahoney Burroughs on the federal and state religious accommodation claims and denied summary judgment as to the remaining claims due to genuine issues of material fact. See Tr. Mot. Hr’g 11:9-11, 13:4-10, 13:24-14:2, ECF No. 61. The parties settled and, in a consent decree approved by this Court, stipulated that, in addition to extensive injunctive relief, Mahoney Burroughs ought receive $75,000.00 in monetary relief plus reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. Consent Decree, ECF No. 66. As the parties were not able to agree on the amount for attorneys’ fees and costs, id. at 3, Mahoney Burroughs moved [347]*347for reasonable attorneys’ fees to be decided by this Court pursuant to the consent decree, Mot. Intervenor PI. Att’ys’ Fees & Costs, ECF No. 67.

Mahoney Burroughs seeks $220,355.50 in attorneys’ fees, $1,290.25 in taxable costs, and $1,332.90 in non-taxable costs. Reply Br. Supp. Intervenor Pl.’s Mot. Att’ys’ Fees & Costs (“Reply Br.”) 10,-ECF No. 79; Bill Costs, ECF No. 74.

AutoZone opposes Mahoney Burroughs’s requested award and argues that it ought be reduced substantially due to overstaffing, duplicative billing, excessive supervision and coordination, time spent on media-related matters, giving personal advice, billing for preparatory tasks, administrative and clerical tasks, and use of the block-billing method and partial billing in quarter-hour increments. AutoZone also contends that two of the attorneys for Mahoney Burroughs charged an unreasonably high hourly rate. Defs.’ Opp’n Intervenor PL’s Mot. Att’ys’ Fees & Costs (“AutoZone Opp’n”), ECF No. 77.

III. ANALYSIS

A. Entitlement to Attorneys’ Fees

Both Title VII and Massachusetts General Laws chapter 151B expressly provide for an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs to the prevailing party. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k);1 Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B, § 9.2 As Mahoney Burroughs prevailed on his federal and state law réligious accommodation claims at the summary judgment stage, the parties agreed and stipulated that Mahoney Burroughs ought be compensated for his reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs accordingly. Consent Decree 3-4.

The district .court, in its broad discretion, determines the amount of reasonable fees and costs that are awarded. McDonough v. City of Quincy, 353 F.Supp.2d 179, 183 (D.Mass.2005).

B. Determination of Reasonable Attorneys’ Fees

The “lodestar method” is the proper methodology to determine attorneys’ fees. Conservation Law Found., Inc. v. Patrick, 767 F.Supp.2d 244, 250 (D.Mass.2011). To arrive at a “lodestar” /figure, the Court multiplies “the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation ... by a reasonable hourly rate.” Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983); see Conservation Law Found., Inc. v. Roland Teiner Co., 832 F.Supp.2d 102, 104 (D.Mass.2011). While the Court may adjust the lodestar amount in response to 'factors of each particular case, the lodestar figure does presumptively represent a reasonable award of fees. McDonough, 353 F.Supp.2d at 183-84; see also System Mgmt., Inc. v. Loiselle, 154 F.Supp.2d 195, 204 (D.Mass.2001), attorneys’ fees determination vacated as moot, 303 F.3d 100 (1st Cir.2002).

[348]*3481. Hours Reasonably Spent3

To determine the hours reasonably-expended on Mahoney Burroughs’s case, the Court scrutinizes the contemporaneous billing records that Mahoney Burroughs’s counsel submitted to determine the hours actually spent and then deducts those hours that were insufficiently documented or “duplicative, unproductive, excessive, or otherwise unnecessary.” Grendel’s Den, Inc. v. Larkin, 749 F.2d 945, 950 (1st Cir.1984); Hensley, 461 U.S. at 434, 103 S.Ct. 1933; see also Conservation Law Found., 767 F.Supp.2d at 251 (“Because only reasonably expended hours are to be used in the calculation, this Court may reduce the number of hours billed if inadequately documented or excessive, redundant, or otherwise unnecessary.” (quoting Hensley, 461 U.S. at 434, 103 S.Ct. 1933) (internal quotation marks omitted)).

The burden of proving that the hours claimed were reasonably expended lies with the fee petitioner. Torres-Rivera v. O’Neill-Cancel, 524 F.3d 331, 340 (1st Cir.2008).

Mahoney Burroughs was represented by Sandeep Kaur Randhawa (“Randhawa”) and Harsimran Kaur (“Kaur”) of the Sikh Coalition, Laura Maslow-Armand (“Mas-low-Armand”) and Jamie Spiller (“Spiller”) of the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association (“Lawyer’s Committee”), and David S. Godkin (“Godkin”) of Birnbaum & Godkin, LLP, all of whom contemporaneously recorded hours that they worked on Mahoney Burroughs’s case. Mem. Law Supp. Intervenor PL’s Mot. Att’ys’ Fees & Costs (“Mem. Supp.”) 4, 2, 8, 9, ECF No. 68. Table 1 below summarizes the total hours each attorney claims and the fees requested as amended by Mahoney Burroughs’s reply brief. See id.; Reply Br. 10.

Table 1

Name Position Hours Fee Amount

David S. Godkin Lead Counsel 311.5 $132,387.50

Laura Maslow-Armand Staff Attorney Lawyer’s Committee 223.4 $ 55,850.50

Sandeep Kaur Randhawa Staff Attorney Sikh Coalition 163.7 $ 24,555.00

Harsimran Kaur Legal Director Sikh Coalition 15.0 $ 4,950.00

Jamie R. Spiller Legal Fellow Lawyer’s Committee 20.9 $ 2,612.50

_TOTAL.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
934 F. Supp. 2d 342, 2013 WL 1277873, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/equal-employment-opportunity-commission-v-autozone-inc-mad-2013.