Case Information
*1 Case 1:21-cv-23148-CMA Document 97 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/23/2024 Page 1 of 2
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA CASE NO. 21-23148-CIV-ALTONAGA LEIGH ROTHSCHILD ,
Plaintiff,
vs.
GREAT NORTHERN
INSURANCE COMPANY ,
Defendant.
__________________________/
ORDER
THIS CAUSE
came before the Court on Defendant, Great Northern Insurance Company’s Renewed Motion for Entitlement to Attorney’s Fees and Non-Taxable Costs [ECF No. 96], filed on August 21, 2024. Local Rule 7.3(b) of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida provides:
Except as to any aspect of a fee claim upon which the parties agree, a draft motion [for attorneys’ fees and costs] compliant with Local Rule 7.3(a)(1)–(8) must be served but not filed at least thirty (30) days prior to the deadline for filing any motion for attorneys’ fees and/or costs that is governed by this Local Rule. Within twenty-one (21) days of service of the draft motion, the parties shall confer and attempt in good faith to agree on entitlement to and the amount of fees and expenses not taxable under 28 U.S.C. [section] 1920.
Id. (alterations added). “Local Rule 7.3’s requirements are not optional, but mandatory.” Sriskada v. Harbor Pita, Inc. , No. 14-20526-Civ, 2014 WL 3908206, at *1 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 11, 2014) (citation omitted). “A party’s failure to comply with Local Rule 7.3 is a sufficient basis to deny its fees and costs motion.” Id. (citation omitted).
According to Defendant, Defendant’s counsel “attempted to confer in good faith with counsel for Plaintiff but was unable to reach Plaintiff’s counsel. Plaintiff had previously opposed *2 Case 1:21-cv-23148-CMA Document 97 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/23/2024 Page 2 of 2
CASE NO. 21-23148-CIV-ALTONAGA the relief sought in a similar motion.” (Mot. 6 (citation omitted)). [1] Because the certificate of conferral does not provide any dates for the time of service or attempts to meet and confer, the Court cannot determine whether Local Rule 7.3’s requirements have been met. For this reason, the Motion is due to be denied without prejudice. Cf. Sriskada , 2014 WL 3908206, at *2 (striking a motion for fees and costs and permitting the plaintiff to file a renewed motion where “the record . . . is murky as to whether Plaintiff did, or did not, comply with Local Rule 7.3(b)” (alteration added)).
Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Defendant, Great Northern Insurance Company’s Renewed Motion for Entitlement to Attorney’s Fees and Non-Taxable Costs [ECF No. 96] is DENIED without prejudice .
DONE AND ORDERED in Miami, Florida, this 23rd day of August, 2024. ________________________________________ CECILIA M. ALTONAGA CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE counsel of record cc:
[1] The Court uses the pagination generated by the electronic CM/ECF database, which appears in the headers of all court filings. 2