The Law Office of Rajeh A. Saadeh, LLC v. Desmin Deleon

• Court: New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
• Decided: September 16, 2025
• Docket: A-0800-24
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-0800-24

THE LAW OFFICE OF RAJEH A. SAADEH, LLC,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

DESMIN DELEON,

Defendant-Respondent. _____________________________

Submitted September 10, 2025 – Decided September 16, 2025

Before Judges Mayer and Vanek.

On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Somerset County, Docket No. DC-005320-24.

The Law Office of Rajeh A. Saadeh, LLC, attorneys for appellant (Cynthia L. Dubell, on the brief).

Respondent has not filed a brief.

PER CURIAM

Plaintiff The Law Office of Rajeh A. Saadeh, LLC appeals from a

November 4, 2024 order partially granting its application for attorney's fees incurred in connection with the entry of default judgment against defendant

Desmin Deleon. We affirm.

In its default judgment application, plaintiff requested $3,009 in attorney's

fees. Plaintiff asserted defendant was contractually obligated to pay that amount

for legal services and costs expended under a signed retainer agreement between

the parties.

The judge issued a written statement of reasons in support of her reduced

fee award of $1,363. The judge found plaintiff's hourly rate reasonable.

However, the judge reduced the number of hours billed, finding the time billed

for certain tasks unreasonable.

The judge considered the factors under Rule of Professional Conduct

(RPC) 1.5 in assessing the reasonableness of the hours expended by plaintiff in

obtaining default judgment against defendant. Plaintiff certified its staff spent

8.1 hours on various tasks associated with the request for the entry of default

judgment. In reviewing plaintiff's certification of legal services, the judge found

the number of hours spent drafting the complaint unreasonable, and reduced the

time from 2.8 hours to 1 hour. Additionally, the judge reduced the time

associated with drafting certain pleadings and other documents and providing

instruction to office staff from 3.3 hours to 1.5 hours, finding the time associated

A-0800-24 2 with those tasks unreasonable. Further, the judge concluded plaintiff's five

percent flat fee charge for expenses was unreasonable under Gruber &

Colabella, P.A. v. Erickson, 345 N.J. Super. 248, 252 (Law Div. 2001) (rejecting

payment of "a fixed percentage of the balance due [to the law firm] regardless

of the actual collection costs incurred by [the law firm]"). After determining the

reasonable number of hours spent for each task in obtaining default judgment,

multiplied by the reasonable hourly rate, the judge awarded $1,363.00 in

attorney's fees to plaintiff.

Our review of a trial court's decision to award attorney's fees is

deferential. Garmeaux v. DNV Concepts, Inc., 448 N.J. Super. 148, 155 (App.

Div. 2016). We will disturb an award of attorney fees "'only on the rarest of

occasions, and then only because of a clear abuse of discretion.'" Litton Indus.,

Inc. v. IMO Indus., Inc., 200 N.J. 372, 386 (2009) (quoting Packard-Bamberger

& Co. v. Collier, 167 N.J. 427, 444 (2001)). We will not modify an award of

attorney's fees absent a mistaken exercise of discretion by the trial court.

Berkowitz v. Berkowitz, 55 N.J. 564, 570 (1970). Where the judge correctly

applied the law and rendered appropriate fact findings, a fee award is entitled to

substantial deference. Yueh v. Yueh, 329 N.J. Super. 447, 466, (App. Div.

A-0800-24 3 2000); see also Pressler & Verniero, Current N.J. Court Rules, cmt. 4.7 on R.

5:3-5 (2025).

Having reviewed the record, we are satisfied the judge's written statement

of reasons amply supported the awarded attorney's fees. See Romero v. Gold

Star Distrib., LLC, 468 N.J. Super. 274, 304 (App. Div. 2021). The judge

critically reviewed and properly analyzed plaintiff's certification of legal

services. She thoroughly evaluated the level of difficulty in the matter, the skill

required to prosecute the case, and the result obtained at the conclusion of the

collection action. The sum awarded reflected the judge's determination of the

reasonable number of hours that should have been spent on each task by the

reasonable hourly rate for the work performed. The judge made appropriate

reductions for expended time she deemed unreasonable for the reasons she

meticulously explained.

Under the circumstances, we discern no abuse of discretion in the judge's

award of attorney's fees to plaintiff.

Affirmed.

A-0800-24 4