Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_14-cv-05080/USCOURTS-cand-4_14-cv-05080-15/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 190
Nature of Suit: Other Contract Actions
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Contract Dispute

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United States District Court 

For the Northern District of California 

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

SONG FI, INC., JOSEPH N. 

BROTHERTON, LISA M. PELLEGRINO, 

N.G.B., RASTA ROCK, INC., 

 

 Plaintiffs, 

 

 v. 

GOOGLE, INC., YOUTUBE LLC, 

 Defendants. 

________________________________/ 

No. C 14-5080 CW 

ORDER AWARDING 

ATTORNEYS' FEES 

 The Court awarded attorneys' fees to Defendants for their 

work bringing the motion for sanctions against Plaintiffs' 

counsel, Cozen O'Connor. Docket Nos. 114, 127. The Court 

directed Defendants to submit documentation of hours spent and 

reasonable rates. It considers that submission and the subsequent 

written responses. 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(c)(4) permits a sanction 

in the form of attorneys' fees and other expenses "directly 

resulting from the violation." When awarding sanctions in this 

form, the measure "is not actual expenses and fees but those the 

court determines to be reasonable." Matter of Yagman, 796 F.2d 

1165, 1185 (9th Cir.), opinion amended on denial of reh'g sub nom. 

In re Yagman, 803 F.2d 1085 (9th Cir. 1986). An "essential part 

of determining the reasonableness of the award is inquiring into 

the reasonableness of the claimed fees. Recovery should never 

exceed those expenses and fees that were reasonably necessary to 

resist the offending action." Id. at 1184-85. The court need not 

rigidly apply the factors set forth in Kerr v. Screen Extras 

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Guild, Inc., 526 F.2d 67, 70 (9th Cir. 1975), but it "must make 

some evaluation of the fee breakdown submitted by counsel." Id. 

at 1185. Further, the Court must consider "ability to pay." Id. 

The Court awards eighty percent of the requested attorneys' 

fees and all the requested costs. Although the Court finds the 

hourly rates to be reasonable based on its experience and 

knowledge of local hourly rates, not all of the hours spent were 

"reasonably necessary" to file the Rule 11 motion. Yagman, 796 

F.2d at 1185. It was not reasonably necessary for two attorneys 

to communicate with their client regarding the motion for a 

combined total exceeding ten hours.1 Further, researching, 

drafting and finalizing the opening Rule 11 brief alone accounts 

for over fifty-six hours.2 By comparison, the Eighth Circuit has 

concluded that twenty-five hours is reasonable for prosecuting a 

Rule 11 motion. Kirk Capital Corp. v. Bailey, 16 F.3d 1485, 1491 

(8th Cir. 1994) (awarding attorneys' fees as sanctions under an 

 1 These summarized entries include: "Communicate with client 

regarding Rule 11 motion"--2.6 hours; "Communicate with client 

regarding Rule 11 motion strategy"--3.0 hours; and "Communicate 

with client regarding draft of Rule 11 motion"--5.2 hours. Docket 

No. 128, Willen Dec. ¶¶ 4-5. 

2 These summarized entries include: "Conduct legal research 

regarding primary arguments in support of Rule 11 motion"--8.0 

hours; "Outline Rule 11 motion"--2.1 hours; "Draft Rule 11 

motion"--8.8 hours; "Review and revise Rule 11 motion per internal 

and client feedback"--8.1 hours; "Proofread, cite check and 

finalize Rule 11 motion; review and assist client in preparation 

of supporting declarations; prepare exhibits and proposed order; 

research service and filing requirements"--9.6 hours; "Draft/edit 

Rule 11 motion; conduct legal research regarding primary 

arguments"--7.9 hours; "Review and revise Rule 11 motion and 

supporting documents per client feedback"--7.5 hours; and 

"Finalize Rule 11 motion and supporting documents for service and 

filing"--4.4 hours. Willen Dec. ¶¶ 4-5. 

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older version of Rule 11 where plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed 

their complaint instead of responding to a motion to dismiss). 

Finally, Cozen O'Connor did not indicate that it is unable to pay. 

Cozen O'Connor shall pay $42,723.75 in fees and $129.66 in 

costs. It need not pay before judgment is entered in this case. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: September 16, 2016 

CLAUDIA WILKEN 

United States District Judge 

Case 4:14-cv-05080-CW Document 144 Filed 09/16/16 Page 3 of 3