Texarkana National Bank v. Brown

920 F. Supp. 706, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3400, 1996 WL 132975
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Texas
DecidedMarch 8, 1996
DocketNo. 5:94-CV-71
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 920 F. Supp. 706 (Texarkana National Bank v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Texarkana National Bank v. Brown, 920 F. Supp. 706, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3400, 1996 WL 132975 (E.D. Tex. 1996).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR ATTORNEY’S FEES AND COSTS

SCHELL, Chief Judge.

Before this court is Defendants’ Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs. Plaintiff filed a response, and Defendants filed a reply to the response. Upon consideration of the motion, response, reply, and memoranda of law, this court is of the opinion that Defendants’ motion should be GRANTED with respect to an award of fees and costs but DENIED with respect to the amount sought in Defendants’ motion.

I. BACKGROUND

This was a declaratory judgment action brought by Texarkana National Bank (“TNB”), which sought (1) a construction of a trust created by the will of Thomas A. Brown (the “Brown Trust”) and (2) a declaration that it had neither breached its duties as trustee nor been negligent in the administration of the trust. The Defendants are beneficiaries of the trust, and they filed a counterclaim alleging that TNB breached the terms of the trust or otherwise was negligent in the administration of the trust resulting in a loss of income to the trust and beneficiaries. On December 12, 1995, this action came to trial. On December 15, 1995, the jury returned a verdict awarding the Defendant beneficiaries $2,750,000 in damages. The jury found that TNB breached its trust obligations under the Brown Trust and was negligent in the management of the Brown Trust. On December 27, 1995, a judgment was entered on the docket for $2,750,000 in favor of the Defendants.

On January 10, 1996, Defendants filed their Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs. They seek a total of $870,102.09, which is comprised of $805,670.54 in attorney’s fees and $64,431.55 in costs. Defendants entered into a contingency fee agreement with their attorneys. The attorney’s fees in the amount of $805,670.54 was determined by subtracting the $64,431.55 in costs from the total award of $2,750,000 (which equals $2,685,568.45), and then multiplying $2,685,568.45 by the attorney’s fee of 30%. (which equals $805,-670.54). .In the alternative, the Defendants seek their attorney’s fees in the amount of $173,652.50 calculated on an hourly basis. Defendants move for attorney’s fees and costs under (1) the offer of judgment provision, Article Six (9), of the Eastern District’s Civil Justice and Expense and Delay Reduction Plan (the Plan) and (2) section 114.064 of the Texas Trust Code.

TNB opposes an award of these attorney’s fees and costs on several grounds. First, the Plan does not authorize an award based on a contingency fee arrangement but rather only a reasonable fee. Second, the Fifth Circuit standards for calculating a reasonable attorney’s fee do not permit an outright award of a contingency fee. Third, Defendants seek attorney’s fees and costs for the entire litigation rather than subsequent to TNB’s rejection of the offer of judgment as provided for in the Plan. The central issue for the court to determine is what a reasonable amount of attorney’s fees and costs would be to award the Defendants under the Texas Trust Code and the Plan’s offer of judgment provision.

II. APPLICABLE STANDARDS FOR ATTORNEY’S FEES AND COSTS

Section 114.064 of the Texas Trust Code provides that “[i]n any proceeding under this code the court may make such award of costs and reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees as may seem equitable and just.” Texas Trust Code § 114.064. Whether to award costs and attorney’s fees is within the sound discretion of the court. Lyco Acquisition 1984 Ltd. Partnership v. First Nat’l Bank of Amarillo, 860 S.W.2d 117, 121 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 1993, writ denied). Under Texas law:

When determining the reasonableness of an award of attorney’s fees, the following factors should be considered: (1) the time and labor involved; (2) the nature and complexities of the case; (3) the value of [708]*708the interest involved; (4) ,thé extent of the responsibilities assumed by the attorney; and (5) the benefits resulting to the client from the attorney’s services.

Id. at 122. Although the Texas Trust Code applies to this action and provides a basis for an award of attorney’s fees, this court also will apply the offer of judgment provision of the Plan and the applicable Fifth Circuit standards for determining a reasonable attorney’s fee.

, The Plan’s offer of judgment provision states:

At the Management Conference or anytime thereafter, a party may make a written offer of judgment. If the offer of judgment is not accepted and the final judgment in the case is of more benefit to the party who made the offer by 10%, then the party who rejected the offer must pay the litigation costs incurred after the offer was rejected. In personal injury and civil rights cases involving contingent attorneys’ fees, the award of litigation costs shall not exceed the amount of the final judgment. The Court may, in its discretion, reduce the award of litigation costs in order to prevent undue hardship to a party.
“Litigation costs” means those costs which are directly related to preparing the case for trial and actual trial expenses, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees, deposition costs and fees for expert witnesses.
The party who makes an offer of judgment shall set forth the deadline by which the offer must be accepted. The deadline must be reasonable. If the offer is not accepted in writing by the deadline, the offer is deemed rejected on that day:
The government’s participation in this Section is not mandatory, but is permitted with the consent of the government.

Plan, Article Six (9). As the court has noted previously, “[t]he Plan’s offer of judgment provision is an effective mechanism for encouraging settlement and forcing parties to take a realistic view of their cases.” Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Chevron Chemical Co., 885 F.Supp. 934, 939 (E.D.Tex.1995). The Plan’s offer of judgment provision is authorized by section 473(b)(6) of the Civil Justice Reform- Act because the provision “facilitates the deliberate adjudication of civil cases on the merits, improves litigation'management, and ensures the just, speedy, and inexpensive resolution of civil disputes.” Id. at 938-39; see also Craig M. Patrick, Comment, The Offer You Can’t Refuse: Offers of Judgment in the Eastern District of Texas, 46 Baylor L.Rev. 1075, 1082 (1994) (“Recognizing the problems inherent in Rule 68 and authorized to reduce cost and delay, the Eastern District chose the offer of judgment as a tool to effectuate this goal.”).

In awarding statutorily-authorized attorney’s fees, district courts must follow the lodestar method to calculate a reasonable award of attorney’s.fees. Longden v. Sunderman, 979 F.2d 1095, 1099 (5th Cir.1992) (citing Copper Liquor, Inc. v. Adolph Coors Co., 684 F.2d 1087, 1092 (5th Cir.1982)). The Defendants argue that the lodestar method is limited to common-fund class action cases such as Longden. Defs.’ Reply to TNB’s Resp. to Defs.’ Mot. for Attorney’s Fees and Costs 4.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
920 F. Supp. 706, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3400, 1996 WL 132975, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texarkana-national-bank-v-brown-txed-1996.