Christopher v. RJM Acquisitions LLC, 2:13-cv-02274

Defendant RJM Acquisitions LLC purchased a Mystery Book Club account with a $97.36 balance that Plaintiff Jennifer Christopher did not open or owe.
Defendant sent three collection letters to two addresses obtained by a third-party locator; Plaintiff received two and notified Defendant the debt was not hers.
Plaintiff filed FDCPA claim; following cross-motions for summary judgment, the court ruled in Defendant's favor on one count and in Plaintiff's favor on another, awarding $1,000 in damages.
Plaintiff now seeks attorney’s fees under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)(3); she requests $15,741.00.
Defendant argues Plaintiff is not entitled to fees because she prevailed on a theory she did not advance and that fees should be reduced for overstaffing and excessive billing.
The court must determine reasonableness of fees via lodestar, adjusting for clerical work, intra-office activities, and other reductions as warranted.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Entitlement to attorney’s fees	Christopher prevailed on the FDCPA claim.	Fees should be denied since win did not rely on her theory.	Plaintiff entitled to attorney’s fees.
Reasonableness of rates	Rates claimed ($300, $250, $175, $135) are reasonable.	Rates are excessive or unsupported.	Rates found reasonable.
Overstaffing and total hours	Hours are reasonable given the work performed.	Too many attorneys/staff; hours are excessive comparable to Savino.	No reduction for overstaffing; lodestar preserved with downstream adjustments.
Clerical or secretarial work recoverability	Some clerical tasks are recoverable at paralegal rate.	Clerical work should be subsumed by overhead.	Reduce clerical entries billed at paralegal rate from 6.8 hours to $75/hour.
Intra-office activities	Intra-office discussions are recoverable.	Such charges should be scrutinized/limited.	Maintain charge for intra-office activities; no reduction without explanation.

Camacho v. Bridgeport Fin., Inc., 523 F.3d 973 (9th Cir. 2008) (lodestar method; fees recoverable when plaintiff prevails)
Tolentino v. Friedman, 46 F.3d 645 (7th Cir. 1995) (fee-shifting statutes; reasonable fees)
Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424 (Supreme Court 1983) (reasonableness; avoid duplicative or incur unnecessary work)
Ferland v. Conrad Credit Corp., 244 F.3d 1145 (9th Cir. 2001) (allowance of adjustments to lodestar; concise explanation required)
Moreno v. City of Sacramento, 534 F.3d 1106 (9th Cir. 2008) (haircut up to 10% for adjustments; need justification)
Davis v. City & County of San Francisco, 976 F.2d 1536 (9th Cir. 1992) (clerical tasks recoverable at lower rate; not attorney/paralegal rate)
Savino v. Computer Credit, Inc., 71 F. Supp. 2d 173 (E.D.N.Y. 1999) (overstaffing; excessive hours in FDCPA case analogies)