Dentino v. Moiharwin Diversified Corporation
2:16-cv-00904
D. Nev.Jan 17, 2017Background
- Dentino sued Vegas Valley Collection Services under the FDCPA and prevailed; he moved for attorney’s fees and costs.
- Dentino submitted billing records showing BLG attorneys Bourassa (partner), Richards (associate), Ross (partner), and paralegals with total hours claimed and hourly rates.
- Defendant contested Richards’s $350/hr rate and some billed time as excessive or block-billed.
- Court applied the Ninth Circuit lodestar framework to evaluate reasonable hours and rates, and considered both hour-by-hour review and across-the-board reductions.
- Court reduced Richards’s hours by 10% for excessive/block billing, lowered his hourly rate to $225 as reasonable for an associate, and disallowed $85.66 in travel costs.
- Court awarded $28,110.50 in attorney’s fees, $936.63 in taxable costs, and post-judgment interest at 0.79% from December 1, 2016.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether hours billed were reasonable | BLG submitted detailed billing records reflecting work required to prosecute the case | Certain entries were excessive, redundant, or block-billed and should be reduced | Court found overall hours reasonable but imposed a 10% haircut on Richards’s hours for excess/block billing (76.2 → 68.58) |
| Proper hourly rates for attorneys | Partners Bourassa and Ross billed $350/hr; Richards billed $350/hr as well | Richards, a recent graduate/associate, should not receive partner rate; $200–$225/hr appropriate for an associate | Court kept $350/hr for partners; set Richards’s rate at $225/hr as reasonable for an associate |
| Method for adjusting lodestar where entries are excessive | Lodestar with hour review or percentage cut; plaintiff relied on submitted records | Defendant urged reductions for excessive or unnecessary entries | Court applied lodestar, reduced Richards’s hours by 10% as permissible "haircut" under Moreno/Gonzalez |
| Taxable costs claimed | Dentino sought $1,022.29 in costs with receipts | Defendant objected to travel expenses being taxable | Court allowed costs except $85.66 travel; awarded $936.63 |
Key Cases Cited
- Gonzalez v. City of Maywood, 729 F.3d 1196 (9th Cir. 2013) (describing lodestar method and approaches to excluding excessive or redundant hours)
- Moreno v. City of Sacramento, 534 F.3d 1106 (9th Cir. 2008) (approving small percentage reductions—"haircuts"—without detailed line-item explanation)