New Technology Electrical Contractors, Inc. v. Milestone Investment Co.

269 F. App'x 629
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit·Decided March 7, 2008·No. No. 05-35977·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Appellants Milestone Investment Co. (“Milestone”), William Coleman (“Coleman”), and C.D. Crouser (“Crouser”), challenge the district court’s denial of attorney’s fees for litigation expenses incurred in the case below, wherein Appellees New Technology Electrical Contractors, Inc. and its parent company Integrated Electrical Services, Inc. (collectively “New Tech”), unsuccessfully sought to invalidate a seven-year lease (“Lease”) on commercial property held by its landlord Summit Properties, Inc. (“Summit”). In its attempt to invalidate the Lease, New Tech brought several third party claims against its original landlord, Milestone, and Coleman and Crouser, former officers of New Tech, for their alleged misconduct in the formation of the Lease. Appellants prevailed on all claims against them and then sought attorney’s fees from New Tech. The district court denied their request for attorney’s fees and all three now appeal.

1. Scope of Review

The district court denied Appellants’ motion for attorney’s fees on August [631]*63130, 2005, 2005 WL 2104960. On September 9, 2005, they filed a motion for reconsideration. While the motion was pending, Appellants filed a notice of appeal challenging the August 30, 2005 order. See Fed. R.App. P. 3(c). The district court denied Appellants’ motion for reconsideration on October 21, 2005, which pursuant to Rule 4(a)(4)(B)(i), also marked the date on which their notice of appeal took effect. See Fed. R.App. P. 4(a)(4)(B)(i). Because Appellants’ notice of appeal did not mention the order denying their motion for reconsideration, they were required to file an amended or separate notice of appeal to properly challenge that order. See Fed. RApp. P. 4(a)(4)(B)(ii); Whitaker v. Garcetti, 486 F.3d 572, 585 (9th Cir.2007). As Appellants never completed this procedural step, the court lacks jurisdiction to review the order denying their motion for reconsideration. See id. Therefore, the only decision before the court is the August 30, 2005 order denying Appellants’ motion for attorney’s fees.

2. Eligibility of Coleman and Crouser for Indemnification Under Section 145(c) of the Delaware Code

Coleman and Crouser contend that, as former officers of New Tech, they are eligible for attorney’s fees under Delaware’s indemnification statute for having prevailed on the merits of the underlying litigation. Section 145(c) provides:

To the extent that a present or former director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding ..., or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred[1] by such person in connection therewith.

8 Del.Code § 145(c). “Indemnification is the right to be reimbursed for all out of pocket expenses and losses caused by the underlying claim.” Majkowski v. Am. Imaging Mgmt. Serv., LLC, 913 A.2d 572, 586 (Del.Ch.2006). New Tech does not dispute that Coleman and Crouser were officers, that their alleged misconduct occurred while they were acting in their capacity as officers of the company, or that they prevailed on the merits. The district court concluded that § 145(c) did not apply, however, because it concluded that there was no evidence that either Coleman or Crouser had “actually incurred” attorney’s fees, because Milestone had paid Appellants’ collective legal fees.

The language of § 145(e) is “best understood as a statutory embodiment of the common law of indemnification, which generally recognizes that a party who has not and will not sustain any actual out-of-pocket loss as a result of a claim raised against it has no indemnification claim.” Levy v. HLI Operating Co., Inc., 924 A.2d 210, 222-23 (Del.Ch.2007) (quotations & citation omitted) (emphasis added). Although the burden falls on the plaintiff to submit evidence of attorney’s fees “actually and reasonably incurred,” the court may remand a claim to further develop the evidentiary record with regard to the amount of fees incurred by a party seeking indemnification. See Jordan v. Multnomah County, 815 F.2d 1258, 1263-64 (9th Cir.1987); see also MCI Telecomm. Corp. v. Wanzer, No. 89-C-MR216, 1990 WL 91100, at *12-13 (Del.Super. Ct. June 19, 1990) (not reported in A.2d).

[632] As an initial matter, Appellants’ claim for attorney’s fees is proper under § 145(c). For their alleged misconduct while acting as officers of the company, Coleman and Crouser were charged by New Tech with breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and conspiracy to defraud, which constitute the precise type of claims to which the Delaware indemnification statute applies. See § 145(a) & (b). Moreover, Coleman and Crouser achieved success on the merits when the district court entered summary judgment in them favor, thereby triggering the mandatory indemnification provision of § 145. See § 145(c). Consequently, New Tech is required to indemnify Coleman and Crouser for attorney’s fees “actually and reasonably incurred.” Id.

Robert B. Coleman (“Attorney Coleman”) and H. Fred Cook (“Cook”) represented all three Appellants at various stages in the litigation below.2 In support of their motion for attorneys’ fees, Appellants submitted time summaries of legal fees and expenses charged during the course of the litigation. Both lawyers addressed them time summaries to Milestone, though one was sent to Coleman’s attention. Although there is a description of services rendered adjacent to each unit of billable time, those entries do not specify the individual Appellant for whom the services were performed. The last page of Attorney Coleman’s summary includes a list of payments, which indicates that Milestone issued several checks to his law firm for legal services. There is no evidence of individual payment from either Coleman or Crouser.

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New Technology Electrical Contractors, Inc. v. Milestone Investment Co., 269 F. App'x 629 (9th Cir. 2008).

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