Johnson v. Li

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJune 17, 2020
Docket5:19-cv-08075
StatusUnknown

This text of Johnson v. Li (Johnson v. Li) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. Li, (N.D. Cal. 2020).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 SAN JOSE DIVISION 7 SCOTT JOHNSON, 8 Case No. 5:19-cv-08075-EJD Plaintiff, 9 ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND Vv. DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S 10 MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES EDWARD K. LEI et al., AND COSTS Defendants. Re: Dkt. No. 24 g

13 Plaintiff Scott Johnson’s seeks attorneys’ fees and costs under 42 U.S.C. § 12205 and Cal.

14 || Civ. Code § 52(a). Defendants maintain that the fees and costs requested are unreasonably high. © 3 15 || Having considered the Parties’ papers, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part © 16 || Plaintiffs motion for attorneys’ fees and costs.!

(«17 I. BACKGROUND Z 18 On December 11, 2019, Plaintiff, a level C-5 quadriplegic, filed a lawsuit against 19 || Defendants, who operate a Family Healthcare Center located at 520 S. Murphy Avenue, 20 || Sunnyvale, California. See Complaint for Damages and Injunctive Relief (“Compl.”) □□□□ Dkt. 21 1. Plaintiff alleged that Defendants unlawfully failed to provide accessible paths of travel, 22 || accessible sales counters, and accessible restrooms. /d. Jj 12-18. 23 On April 14, 2020, this Court entered Judgment in favor of Plaintiff pursuant to an 24 || accepted Rule 68 Offer of Judgment. Dkt. 23. The Judgment entitles Plaintiff to $6,500 and all 25 26 ' Pursuant to N.D. Cal. Civ. L.R. 7-1(b), this Court finds this motion suitable for consideration without oral argument. 27 || Case No.: 5:19-cv-08075-EJD ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR 28 || ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS

1 reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees incurred from this lawsuit. On April 28, 2020, Plaintiff filed a 2 || motion for attorneys’ fees and costs. Notice of Motion and Memorandum of Points and 3 || Authorities in Support of Motion for an Award of Attorneys’ Fees (“Mot.”), Dkt. 24. On May 12, 4 || 2020, Defendants filed an opposition. Defendants Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney’s 5 || Fees and Costs (“Opp.”), Dkt. 25. Thereafter, on May 19, 2020, Plaintiff filed a reply. Reply in 6 Support of Plaintiff's Motion for Attorneys’ Fees (“Reply”), Dkt. 26. 7 Il. LEGAL STANDARD 8 Both the ADA and the Unruh Act permit recovery of fees by a “prevailing” plaintiff. 42 9 || U.S.C. § 12205; Cal. Civ. Code § 55. Such fee-shifting statutes “enable private parties to obtain 10 || legal help in seeking redress for injuries resulting from actual or threatened violation of 11 specific .. . laws.” Pennsylvania v. Del. Valley Citizens’ Council for Clean Air, 478 U.S. 546, 565 12 || (1986). Recovery statutes, however, are not intended “to punish or reward attorneys.” Van 13 Gerwen v. Guarantee Mutual Life Co., 214 F.3d 1041, 1047 (9th Cir. 2000). A plaintiff who 14 || enters into a legally enforceable settlement agreement is considered a prevailing party. Barrios v. 3 15 Cal. Interscholastic Fed’n, 277 F.3d 1128, 1134 (9th Cir. 2002). Because Plaintiff has obtained a 16 || “substantial relief” on “related” claims based on “a common core of facts or . . . related legal 3 17 || theories,” the court may award full fees under either the ADA or Unruh Act claim and need not 18 distinguish between the fees awarded under each. See E/—-Hakem v. BJY Inc., 415 F.3d 1068, 19 1075-76 (9th Cir. 2005); see also Schwarz v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 73 F.3d 895, 901- 20 || 02 (9th Cir. 1995) (citing Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 440 (1983)). 21 To calculate recoverable fees, both federal and state courts look to the lodestar method. 22 See Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433; Ketchum v. Moses, 24 Cal. 4th 1122, 1132 (2001). The lodestar 23 method is “strong[ly] presum[ed]” to represent a reasonable fee. Del. Valley Citizens’ Council, 24 || 478 U.S. at 565. The court arrives at this figure by multiplying the number of hours reasonably 25 expended by a reasonable hourly rate. Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433; Ketchum, 24 Cal. 4th at 1132. 26 || The fee applicant bears the burden of showing that the requested rate is reasonable based on “the 27 Case No.: 5:19-cv-08075-EJD ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR 2g || ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS

1 || prevailing market rate in the community for similar services of lawyers of reasonably comparable 2 || skill, experience, and reputation.” D’Emanuele v. Montgomery Ward & Co., Inc., 904 F.2d 1379, 3 1384 (9th Cir. 1990) (quotation marks omitted), overruled on other grounds by Burlington v. 4 || Dague, 505 U.S. 557, 559 (1992). In making this determination, courts look to other decisions in 5 “the forum in which the district court sits,” and “accord[s] more weight to . . . fee awards made in 6 || the last two years.” Barjon vy. Dalton, 132 F.3d 496, 500 (9th Cir. 1997); see also Nadarajah v. 7 || Holder, 569 F.3d 906, 917 (9th Cir. 2009); Johnson vy. Allied Trailer Supply, 2014 WL 1334006, 8 at *5 n. 3 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 3, 2014) (citing Bell v. Clackamas Cty., 341 F.3d 858, 869 (9th Cir. 9 || 2003) (finding abuse of discretion where district court “appl[ied] market rates in effect more than 10 || two years before... work .. . performed”’)). 11 I. DISCUSSION a 2 Plaintiff seeks $10,945.00 in attorneys’ fees and $875.00 in litigation costs. The Court . 13 addresses each request in turn.

14 A. Attorneys’ Fees 3 15 Both Parties agree that this case was not extensively litigated—Plaintiff’s counsel Q 16 || expended less than “two full work days” on the representation. Mot. at 16. Plaintiff is seeking

17 || compensation for this work based on the lodestar method without any adjustment, in the amount Z 18 || of $10,945.00. Defendants do not challenge Plaintiffs entitlement to fees; Defendants challenge 19 || the requested hourly rate and some of the billing entries for attorneys Mark Potter, Dennis Price, 20 Amanda Seabock, and Josie Zimmermann. 21 22 23 * Defendants also argue that Mark Potter’s declaration that certifies Dennis Price, Amanda Seabock, and Josie Zimmermann’s billing statements is inadmissible hearsay. The Court 24 || disagrees—this declaration shows that the records fall within the business records exception to the rule against hearsay. Mark Potter is the managing partner and record keeper at Center for 25 || Disability Access (the law firm representing Plaintiff). His declaration certifies that the business records submitted to support Mark Potter, Dennis Price, Amanda Seabock, and Josie 26 || Zimmermann’s request for fees fall within the business records exception to the hearsay rule. See Fed. R. Evid. 803(6). The Court thus disregards this objection. 27 || Case No.: 5:19-cv-08075-EJD ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR 28 || ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS

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