Judge: Thomas D. Long, Case: 22STCV01901, Date: 2024-01-11 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV01901    Hearing Date: January 11, 2024    Dept: 48

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

Plaintiff Sagnite Flores and Defendants Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. and Pacific Volkswagen have reached a settlement in this Song-Beverly action.  On August 4, 2023, Plaintiff filed a motion for attorney fees.  Defendants did not file an opposition.

As the prevailing party, Plaintiff is entitled to an award of reasonable attorney fees.  (Civil Code § 1794, subd. (d).)  California courts apply the “lodestar” approach to determine what fees are reasonable.  (See, e.g., Holguin v. DISH Network LLC (2014) 229 Cal.App.4th 1310, 1332.)  This inquiry “begins with the ‘lodestar,’ i.e., the number of hours reasonably expended multiplied by the reasonable hourly rate.”  (PLCM Group v. Drexler (2000) 22 Cal.4th 1084, 1095.)  From there, the “lodestar figure may then be adjusted, based on consideration of factors specific to the case, in order to fix the fee at the fair market value for the legal services provided.”  (Ibid.)  Relevant factors include “(1) the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, (2) the skill displayed in presenting them, (3) the extent to which the nature of the litigation precluded other employment by the attorneys, [and] (4) the contingent nature of the fee award.”  (Ketchum v. Moses (2001) 24 Cal.4th 1122, 1132.)  The party seeking fees has the burden of documenting the appropriate hours expended and hourly rates.  (City of Colton v. Singletary (2012) 206 Cal.App.4th 751, 784.)

Plaintiff seeks $31,039.50 in attorney fees and $1,867.81 in costs and expenses.  Plaintiff provides a copy of counsel’s billing records, which show 57.8 hours billed.  (Saeedian Decl., Ex. A.)

Plaintiff’s counsel charges various hourly rates: $695 for Michael Saeedian; $525 for Christopher Urner; and $250 for law clerk Jorge Acosta.  (Saeedian Decl. ¶¶ 3-5.)  The Court finds that $695 is unreasonably high, and $525 is a reasonable rate for all of Plaintiff’s attorneys.  Counsel’s declaration and lengthy invoice do not provide the total hours billed by each attorney, complicating the calculations for the Court.

The billing records also reflect inefficiencies in the number of hours for certain tasks.  For example, Attorney Saeedian, who has the highest hourly rate, billed 0.6 hours for drafting and reviewing the attorney-client agreement, 0.3 hours for “Receipt and review of Conformed Summons, Complaint, Civil Case Cover Sheet, Addendum and additional forms,” and 0.5 hours for “Review Fee Motion, Case File and records in preparation of Fee Motion Hearing.”  Over nine hours were billed in connection with this simple fee motion, with most of that time billed by the attorney with the highest hourly rate.  Additionally, the Court will not award attorney fees for the anticipated 1.5 hours for preparing a reply and 1.0 hour for attending the hearing on this unopposed motion.

Some items are clerical in nature, such as “Review Plaintiff's billing entries for clarity and accuracy” and “Continue reviewing Plaintiffs billing entries for clarity and accuracy in preparation to draft Plaintiffs fee motion.”  These entries are particularly troublesome because they call into question the original accuracy of the recordkeeping.  Counsel had declared that the billing records were “accurate reflections of the time that I have worked on this case as well as the time my employees have worked on this case” and that “most of the tasks in this case are recorded in the client file as they occur.”  Saeedian Decl. ¶ 9.)

Considering the type of case, complexity of the case, length of litigation, and the record as a whole, the Court concludes that a reasonable amount of attorney fees is $20,000.00.  (See Kerkeles v. City of San Jose (2015) 243 Cal.App.4th 88, 102 [“When a ‘voluminous fee application’ is made, the court may . . . ‘make across-the-board percentage cuts either in the number of hours claimed or in the final lodestar figure.’”].)

The motion for attorney fees is GRANTED IN PART.  The Court awards Plaintiff $25,000.00 in attorney fees and $1,867.81 in costs and expenses.

Moving party to give notice.

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at SMCDEPT48@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit.  If all parties in the case submit on the tentative ruling, no appearances before the Court are required unless a companion hearing (for example, a Case Management Conference) is also on calendar.

         Dated this 11th day of January 2024