Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_06-cv-02042/USCOURTS-caed-2_06-cv-02042-46/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 42:1981 Civil Rights

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

L.H., A.Z., D.K., and D.R., 

on behalf of themselves and all

other similarly situated juvenile

parolees in California,

Plaintiffs, No. CIV S-06-2042 LKK GGH

vs.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, et al.,

Defendants. ORDER

 /

Presently pending before the court is plaintiffs’ application for fees and costs in

association with their previous motion for sanctions which was granted on September 21, 2007. 

Defendants have not filed a response. 

Plaintiffs have submitted the declarations of Michael Bien and Richard Pearl in

support of the requested fees and costs. Plaintiffs seek $56,699 in fees and $2,809.19 in costs,

for a total of $59,508.19 incurred in connection with their motion to compel responses to

interrogatories, filed April 19, 2007, and motion for sanctions, filed August 23, 2007. 

Having now reviewed the declarations and exhibits, and having no objections, the

court will grant the request in part. Plaintiffs’ request for Westlaw research costs in the amount

Case 2:06-cv-02042-LKK-DAD Document 358 Filed 05/02/08 Page 1 of 2
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 The court presumes that with hourly rates as high as $590 per hour, overhead rates such 1

as computerized research are encompassed within these rates. In fact, the court notes that the

rates appear to bear no relation to actual market rates, i.e. what a willing client actually would

pay to a lawyer. The court further notes that attorneys’ fee rates, based on artificial guesstimates

and co-lawyer declarations, far outstrip any inflationary cause. The lowest rate charged, $150 per

hour for a paralegal clerk, if computed to an annual salary based on 40 hours of work per week,

totals $312,000 per year, which is almost double the salary of a United States District Judge.

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of $1,281.04 is denied.1

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Plaintiffs’ October 5, 2007 request for fees and costs is granted in part in the

amount of $58,227.15.

2. Defendants shall pay plaintiffs this amount within 45 days of this order.

DATED: 05/01/08

/s/ Gregory G. Hollows

 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

GGH:076

L.H.2042.fees.wpd

Case 2:06-cv-02042-LKK-DAD Document 358 Filed 05/02/08 Page 2 of 2