Russian School of Mathematics, Inc. v. Sinyavin

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ---------------------------------------------------------X RUSSIAN SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS, INC.,

Plaintiff, ORDER AND JUDGMENT v. 23-CV-08103 (PMH) IRENE SINYAVIN and LOGICUS, LLC,

Defendants. ---------------------------------------------------------X

PHILIP M. HALPERN, United States District Judge:

The Court, on February 24, 2025, granted Plaintiff’s motion for attorney’s fees and costs incurred in making the motion to hold Defendants in contempt. (Doc. 73). The Court granted an award in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendants in the amount of $9,504 representing an award of attorney’s fees for work performed in October and November 2024, at Plaintiff’s counsel’s Discounted Standard Rate. (Doc. 75; see Doc. 74). Plaintiff, on May 22, 2025, filed a motion in accordance with the briefing schedule set by the Court, for another judgment in its favor representing attorney’s fees for work performed after March 17, 2025 in connection with Plaintiff’s motion to hold Defendants in contempt. (Doc. 91; Doc. 92). Defendants opposed the motion on May 29, 2025 (Doc. 93; Doc. 94), and Plaintiff filed reply papers on June 3, 2025 (Doc. 95; Doc. 96). The Court has carefully reviewed Plaintiff’s corrected exhibit displaying billing records with borders (Doc. 95-1) and there are a number of entries that do not appear to solely relate to the motion to hold Defendants in contempt. Further, the block-billing in Plaintiff’s counsel’s time records renders it difficult to parse out reasonable hours for the tasks that are in fact related solely to the motion to hold Defendants in contempt. (See id; Doc. 73). The entries that the Court finds warrant an award are reproduced below and have been reduced based upon the Court’s view of the reasonableness of the time recorded for the tasks performed: Work Date Work Description 2025-03-19 Draft/revise proposed order to show cause, declaration in support; prepare exhibits for same 2025-04-14 Draft/revise declaration and memorandum of law in support of order to show cause; research regarding same 2025-04-15 Research regarding standards for maintaining contempt, sanctions contemplated by Court's order to show cause 2025-04-17 Draft/revise declaration and memorandum of law in support of order to show cause; review/analyze federal and state court records for same 2025-04-17 Research caselaw for memorandum of law in support of order to show cause, including sanctions for failure to abide court Orders 2025-04-18 Draft/revise memorandum of law and declaration in support of order to show cause; prepare exhibits for same 2025-04-30 Attendance at federal court hearing; preparation for same 2025-05-14 Prepare for in-person hearing; research caselaw and prepare documents for same

The adjusted amount sought for these tasks totals $12,928.50. In light of its familiarity with this case, the history and posture of the action, and its prior experience with work of this nature, the Court finds that a 30-percent reduction of the fees claimed for the tasks identified above is warranted, reflecting considerations of whether work performed was necessary and reasonable specifically “in making the motion to hold Defendants in contempt.” (Doc. 73). See, e.g., Hines v. City of Albany, 613 Fed. App’x 52, 54–55 (2d Cir. June 3, 2015) (affirming 30% reduction in fees based on block billing and other concerns); Broker Genius Inc. v. Seat Scouts LLC, No. 17-CV-08627, 2019 WL 3773856, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 12, 2019); Beastie Boys v. Monster Energy Co., 112 F. Supp. 3d 31, 57 (S.D.N.Y. 2015). Plaintiff may therefore recover $8,312.85 in attorney’s fees. Plaintiff is also entitled to costs in the amount of $30.66. (Doc. 91 ¶ 8; Doc. 91-2). Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Plaintiff Russian School of Mathematics, Inc. have judgment against Defendants Irene Sinyavin and Logicus, LLC, in the amount of $8,343.51 representing an award of attorney’s fees and costs.

SO-ORDERED. Dated: White Plains, New York June 6, 2025

Philip M. Halpern United States District Judge