Charlotte Nicholas v. Allianceone Receivables Manage, No. 11-13764 (11th Cir. 2012)
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[DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT No. 11-13764 Non-Argument Calendar FILED U.S. COURT OF APPEALS ELEVENTH CIRCUIT JAN 10, 2012 JOHN LEY CLERK D. C. Docket No. 0:10-cv-60783-KMM CHARLOTTE E. NICHOLAS, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus ALLIANCEONE RECEIVABLES MANAGEMENT, INC., Defendant-Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (January 10, 2012) Before DUBINA, Chief Judge, PRYOR and KRAVITCH, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: This case presents a very narrow issue: whether a consumer who prevails in a lawsuit brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) may recover fees paid for court-ordered mediation. Plaintiff/Appellant, Charlotte E. Nicholas ( Nicholas ), brought an action under the FDCPA and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, Fla. Stat. §§ 559.55 et seq. ( FCCPA ), against Allianceone Receivables Management, Inc., ( Allianceone ), a debt collector. Specifically, Nicholas alleged in her complaint that Allianceone sought to collect on an alleged debt owned by Nicholas by leaving an excessive number of messages on Nicholas s voice mail when Allianceone failed to disclose the fact that it was a debt collector, in violation of both federal and Florida state law. Subsequently, the parties settled the case for $2,001.00 plus reasonable attorney s fees and costs, to be determined by the court. Nicholas then filed a verified motion for an award of costs and attorney s fees. In her motion Nicholas sought attorney s fees in the amount of $3,314.50, representing 9.74 hours of work at an hourly rate of $350.00. Nicholas also sought to recover costs in the amount of $991.75. Additionally, in a supplemental declaration, Nicholas sought fees in the amount of $2,156.00, representing 6.16 hours of work at an hourly rate of $350.00, for fees incurred in litigating the attorney s fee issue. 2 The case was referred by the district court to a magistrate judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636 et seq. The magistrate judge concluded that Nicholas was entitled to an award of attorney s fees in the total amount of $4,689.00, representing $2,841.00 for 9.47 hours of work at an hourly rate of $300.00, and $1,848.00 for 6.16 hours of work also at an hourly rate of $300.00. The magistrate judge also found that Nicholas was entitled to a total of $430.00 in costs representing the filing fees ($350.00) and service calls ($30.00), as well as the cost associated with a cancelled deposition ($50.00). This appeal concentrates on the district court s ruling that Nicholas was not entitled to mediation fees because those costs are not taxable under 28 U.S.C. § 1920. We agree with the district court s ruling and find persuasive our decision in Gary Brown & Assoc., Inc. v. Ashdon, Inc., 268 F. App x 837, 845 46 (11th Cir. 2008), denying a prevailing party s request for mediation expenses. Accordingly, we affirm the district court s order adopting the magistrate judge s Report and Recommendation. AFFIRMED. 3
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