Judge: Michael Small, Case: 22STCV24167, Date: 2024-12-03 Tentative Ruling

Inform the clerk if you submit on the tentative ruling. If moving and opposing parties submit, no appearance is necessary.

Case Number: 22STCV24167    Hearing Date: December 3, 2024    Dept: 57

Pending before the Court is the Plaintiffs' motion for attorney's fees and costs incurred in this case.  In the motion, Plaintiffs sought a total of $42,794.72,   This figure was broke down as follows: (a) $35,877,00 in attorney fees incurred through the time of the filing of the motion; (b) an additional $5,000.00 in attorney's fees for work by counsel in reviewing the anticipated Defendant opposition to the motion, preparing a reply brief in support of the motion, and attending the hearing on the motion; and (c) $1,917.72 in costs. 

Defendant opposed the motion.   Its criticisms in the opposition of the Plaintiffs' fee request largely miss the mark.  In the Court's view, the hourly rates for the lawyers and paralegals who conducted the work for the Plaintiffs in this case are reasonable.  In the main , so too is the amount of time that the lawyers and paralegals say they worked on particular tasks described in their billing entries submitted with the Plaintiffs' motion.   There are two exceptions.  First, the Court agrees with the Defendant that the $1,079 billed for attorney time on July 30, 2024 is not reasonable given that the case had settled by that date and the work in the entry was not related to the motion itself.   Second, Defendant was correct in its criticism of the anticipated $5,000 that Plaintiffs reserved related to the motion.  That figure is a bit high. Plaintiffs addressed that criticism in the reply brief, however.  There, Plaintiffs state that they are seeking $2,200, not $5,000, for reviewing the Defendant's opposition, preparing the reply brief, and attending the hearing on the motion.  That figure, which is $2,800 less than initially reserved, strikes the Court as reasonable.

All told, the Court is awarding Plaintiffs $ 38,915.72 in fees and costs, which is calculated as follows:  $42,794.72 minus $2800 minus $1079.