Separ v. Nassau County Department of Social Services

327 F. Supp. 2d 187, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14764, 2004 WL 1718073
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJuly 27, 2004
DocketCV 01 0112
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 327 F. Supp. 2d 187 (Separ v. Nassau County Department of Social Services) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Separ v. Nassau County Department of Social Services, 327 F. Supp. 2d 187, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14764, 2004 WL 1718073 (E.D.N.Y. 2004).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WEXLER, District Judge.

Presently before the court is Plaintiffs counsel’s request for an award of statutory attorneys’ fees. This submission follows a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff Anne Se-par (“Plaintiff’) in the amount of $75,000. Plaintiffs counsel seeks $83,375.00 in attorneys’ fees. Defendants oppose the application and contend that counsel is entitled to no more than $25,000.

BACKGROUND

I. Plaintiff’s Com/plaint and the Jury Verdict

Plaintiffs complaint set forth four causes of action, all based upon the allegation that Plaintiff suffered discrimination while an employee at the Nassau County Department of Social Services. The specific claims set forth in Plaintiffs complaint were:

• employment discrimination in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981;
• employment discrimination in violation of Title VII;
• employment discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and
• employment discrimination in violation of New York State Law

Three of the four causes of action set forth above were dismissed on the second day of trial, at the close of Plaintiffs case. The single remaining cause of action was Plaintiffs claim brought pursuant to the ADA. That claim, however, was also pared down before being submitted to the jury. Specifically, the court dismissed Plaintiffs direct claim of disability discrimination and allowed the jury to consider only Plaintiffs claim of retaliation. This sole remaining claim was presented to the jury as three separately stated theories of recovery. The jury was provided with interrogatories asking whether Defendants retaliated against Plaintiffs request for a disability accommodation in three separate ways by:

• failing to promote plaintiff;
• disciplining plaintiff for her insubordination to a state court judge; and
• placing derogatory comments about plaintiff in her personnel file.

The jury rejected the first two theories of retaliation set forth above but found that Defendants had retaliated against *190 Plaintiffs request for a disability accommodation when derogatory comments were placed in Plaintiffs personnel file. The $75,000 awarded to Plaintiff was on this claim alone.

Claiming prevailing party status, Plaintiff now seeks an award of all attorney’s fees expended in this matter.

II. The Parties’Positions

While Defendants acknowledge that Plaintiff has prevailed in some ways, it is argued that Plaintiffs fee request should be reduced by 80%. This reduction is alleged to be warranted by the number of unsuccessful claims pursued to trial. In addition to seeking this percentage reduction, Defendants attack Plaintiffs’ counsels’ hourly rates, the necessity of time spent and the adequacy of counsels’ records.

Plaintiff opposes the percentage reduction on the ground that all claims alleged stem from the same set of facts. In response to the allegations of inadequate billing records, Plaintiffs counsel alleges that the contemporaneous recording of time spent on this matter by trial counsel and original counsel are more than adequate.

DISCUSSION

I. General Principles

A prevailing plaintiff in a civil rights case is entitled to an award of reasonable attorney’s fees as part of the costs. A plaintiff is deemed to have prevailed if he has obtained “at least some relief on the merits of his claim,” that “directly benefit[s] him at the time of the judgment or settlement.” Farrar v. Hobby, 506 U.S. 103, 111, 113 S.Ct. 566, 121 L.Ed.2d 494 (1992). Once it is determined that a party has prevailed, the issue before the court is the reasonableness of the fee sought.

The first step in determining the appropriate fee award is calculation of the lodestar amount. Green v. Torres, 361 F.3d 96, 98 (2d Cir.2004); Quaratino v. Tiffany & Co., 166 F.3d 422, 424 (2d Cir.1999); Hine v. Mineta, 253 F.Supp.2d 464, 466 (E.D.N.Y.2003). This amount is determined by considering: (1) the appropriate hourly rate and (2) the appropriate number of hours billed. See Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983); Cruz v. Local Union No. 3, 34 F.3d 1148, 1159 (2d Cir.1994); Betancourt v. Giuliani, 325 F.Supp.2d 330, 331, 2004 WL 1586480 *2 (S.D.N.Y.2004); Hine, 253 F. Supp2d at 466.

As to the appropriate rate, a prevailing party’s attorney is entitled to a reasonable hourly rate earned by an attorney in the community of similar experience and expertise. Hine, 253 F. Supp.2d at 466. When considering the number of hours, the court may use its discretion to reduce the amount of hours for which the prevailing plaintiffs attorney can bill. The court may reduce for hours not reasonably expended or where documentation of the hours spent by counsel is not adequate. See Hensley, 461 U.S. at 434, 103 S.Ct. 1933; Hine, 253 F.Supp.2d at 466.

Once the lodestar figure is calculated, the court has discretion to increase or decrease that amount. The fee may be adjusted based upon the plaintiffs level of success. See Hensley, 461 U.S. at 436, 103 S.Ct. 1933; Betancourt, 325 F.Supp.2d at 331, 2004 WL 1586480 at *2. Where, as here, a plaintiff fails to succeed on a number of claims pled, a reduction in fees is usually warranted. E.g., Hine, 253 F.Supp.2d at 467; see Green, 361 F.3d at 99 (“most important factor” in determining the appropriate fee award is “the degree of success obtained by the plaintiff’). When determining the proper reduction, the court can attempt to identify and subtract those hours spent litigating the unsuccessful claim. Green, 361 F.3d at 98. In the alternative, the court can “simply reduce *191 the award to account for the limited success.” Green, 361 F.3d at 99, quoting, Hensley, 461 U.S. at 436-37, 103 S.Ct. 1933, see, e.g., Betancourt, 325 F.Supp.2d at 332, 2004 WL 1586480 at *3 (reduction of 90% for limited success); Hine, 253 F.Supp.2d at 467 (reduction of 60% where plaintiff failed to succeed on two of three causes of action).

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327 F. Supp. 2d 187, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14764, 2004 WL 1718073, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/separ-v-nassau-county-department-of-social-services-nyed-2004.