Life Insurance Company of North America v. Wagner et al, No. 2:2015cv00505 - Document 30 (D. Utah 2016)
Court Description: MEMORANDUM DECISION and Order re: attorney fees. Signed by Judge David Sam on 5/19/16. (jmr)
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Life Insurance Company of North America v. Wagner et al Doc. 30 THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH CENTRAL DIVISION ********************************************************** LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA ) Case No. 2:15-CV-00505-DS Plaintiff, ) vs. ) MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER JANET WAGNER and CONRAD TRUMAN, ) ) Defendants. ********************************************************** I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Life Insurance Company of North America (“LINA”) provided the life insurance at issue in this matter and filed a Complaint for Interpleader asserting that it does not know to which of several claimants it is liable and thereby joining those claimants in the litigation. By Order dated April 14, 2016, the Court granted LINA’s Motion (Doc. #21) “for leave to deposit life insurance proceeds into the Registry of the Court, for discharge and dismissal with prejudice, and for attorney fees and costs”. Mot. at 1. In that Order LINA was directed to provide the Court with appropriate affidavits and other documentation supporting the reasonableness of the amount claimed. II DISCUSSION LINA claims fees of $13,008 and costs of $415. LINA’s entitlement to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs is undisputed by the parties and provided for under law.1 See case authority cited in Motion to Deposit Funds, Be Dismissed, and Recover Attorney Fees (Doc. #21) at 6. 1 Dockets.Justia.com “‘A court will generally determine what fee is reasonable by first calculating the lodestar -the total number of hours reasonably expended multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate- and then adjust the lodestar upward or downward to account for the particularities of the suit and its outcome.’” Zinna v. Congrove, 680 F.3d 1236, 1242 (10th Cir. 2012)(quoting Phelps v. Hamilton, 120 F.3d 1126, 1131 (10th Cir. 1997)). A. Reasonable Hourly Rate LINA claims that the regular and normal hourly rate for Reid, Collis and Casey is $300, $250, and $190 respectively. “To determine what constitutes a reasonable rate, the district court considers the ‘prevailing market rate in the relevant community.’” Lippoldt v. Cole, 468 F.3d 1204, 1224 (10th Cir.2006)(quoting Malloy v. Monahan, 73 F.3d 1012, 1018 (10th Cir. 1996)). “Unless the subject of the litigation is so unusual or requires such special skills that only an out-of-state attorney possess, the fee rates of the local area should be applied even when the lawyers seeking fees are from another area.” Id. at 2225 (citations and internal quotations marks omitted). The hourly rate requested has not been challenged and the Court finds the request in line with that charged by attorneys in the local community. B. Reasonable Hours Other than to suggest that the requested fees seem a little high, the total hours for which Plaintiff’s counsel seek to be paid has not been challenged by Defendants.2 After carefully reviewing LINA’s documentation in support of its fee request, the Court is of the See Wagner’s Opposition Memorandum to LINA’s Motion to Deposit Funds, Be Dismissed, and Recover Attorney Fees (Doc. #23) at 3, and Truman’s Opposition Memorandum (Doc. #24) at 1. 2 2 opinion that 30 plus hours (out of a total of 55.5 hours) billed by Mr. Collis related to drafting the Interpleader Complaint is slightly more than typically would be required to produce that work product. LINA, however, states that although it incurred $14,905 in fees and costs, it is requesting only $13,423. That amount breaks down to $13,008 for fees and $415 for costs. It is not entirely clear to the Court how LINA arrived at the final requested fee amount, but it appears likely that the hours of Mr. Collis were trimmed by 5.928 hours or $1,482. That reduction, which represents slightly more than a 10% discount, is a sufficient adjustment to the hours of Mr. Collis to satisfy the Court that the final fee attributed to him is reasonable. Accordingly, no further reduction is warranted. C. Final Lodestar Amount Based on the record and for the reasons stated, the Court finds that a reasonable attorney fee for each of Claimant’s counsel is as follows: hours rate amount Steven T. Collis 49.572 $250 $12,393 Darren G. Reid 1.1 $300 330 Patti Casey 1.5 $190 285 Total Fees $13.008 D. Costs Documented costs reasonably incurred total $415. . III. CONCLUSION For the reasons set forth above, LINA is entitled to its reasonable attorney fees in the amount of $13,008 and costs in the amount of $415 for a total of $13,423. Prior to 6 depositing the life insurance proceeds into the registry of the Court, LINA may deduct from those proceeds its approved costs and fees incurred in pursuing this action in the amount of $13,423. IT IS SO ORDERED.. . Dated this 19th day of May, 2016 BY THE COURT: DAVID SAM SENIOR JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7
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