Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_76-cv-00162/USCOURTS-caed-2_76-cv-00162-19/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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[3336315.3] [PROPOSED] AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS

CARTER C. WHITE – 164149 

KING HALL CIVIL RIGHTS CLINIC 

U.C. Davis School of Law 

One Shields Avenue, Bldg. TB-30 

Davis, California 95616-8821 

Telephone: (530) 752-5440 

Facsimile: (530) 752-5788 

Email: ccwhite@ucdavis.edu 

MICHAEL W. BIEN – 096891 

GAY CROSTHWAIT GRUNFELD – 121944 

MICHAEL FREEDMAN – 262850 

BENJAMIN BIEN-KAHN – 267933 

ROSEN BIEN GALVAN & GRUNFELD LLP 

101 Mission Street, Sixth Floor 

San Francisco, California 94105-1738 

Telephone: (415) 433-6830 

Facsimile: (415) 433-7104 

Email: mbien@rbgg.com 

 ggrunfeld@rbgg.com 

 mfreedman@rbgg.com 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

SACRAMENTO DIVISION 

DERRIL HEDRICK, DALE ROBINSON, 

KATHY LINDSEY, MARTIN C. CANADA, 

DARRY TYRONE PARKER, individually and 

on behalf of all others similarly situated, 

Plaintiffs, 

v. 

JAMES GRANT, as Sheriff of Yuba County; 

Lieutenant FRED J. ASBY, as Yuba County 

Jailer; JAMES PHARRIS, ROY LANDERMAN, 

DOUG WALTZ, HAROLD J. “SAM” 

SPERBEK, JAMES MARTIN, as members of 

the YUBA COUNTY BOARD OF 

SUPERVISORS, 

Defendants. 

 Case No. 2:76-CV-00162-EFB 

[PROPOSED] AMENDED ORDER 

GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ 

MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS’ 

FEES AND COSTS 

Judge: Hon. Edmund F. Brennan 

Date: 

Time: 

Crtrm.: 8, 13th Floor 

Trial Date: None Set 

Case 2:76-cv-00162-EFB Document 261 Filed 01/31/19 Page 1 of 4
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[3336315.3] 1

[PROPOSED] AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS

Plaintiffs’ Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs came on for hearing before this 

Court on January 30, 2019. 

The Amended Consent Decree, to which the parties agreed on August 16, 2018, 

provides that 

The parties acknowledge that Plaintiffs’ counsel have incurred and will incur 

attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses, and costs related to monitoring the 

Consent Decree, litigating issues related to enforcement of the Consent 

Decree, seeking remedial orders, and negotiating this Amended Consent 

Decree. ... [P]laintiffs will, contemporaneous with their filing of their 

motion for preliminary approval of the Amended Consent Decree, submit a 

motion for attorneys’ fees and costs seeking to recover attorneys’ fees and 

costs related to all work on this matter including monitoring the Consent 

Decree, litigating issues related to the Consent Decree (including the Motion 

to File a Supplemental Complaint), seeking remedial orders, and negotiating 

this Amended Consent Decree (“fees and expenses”). Plaintiffs agree not to 

seek fees and expenses from the Court in an amount above $1,100,000, for 

fees and expenses incurred through June 30, 2018. Defendants agree not to 

oppose Plaintiffs’ petition for fees and expenses up to that amount for the 

period through June 30, 2018. Plaintiffs reserve the right to petition the 

Court for additional fees and expenses incurred from July 1, 2018 through 

final approval of the Amended Consent Decree (“additional fees and 

expenses”). Plaintiffs’ counsel agree the lodestar for the additional fees and 

expenses will be calculated using $220.50 per hour, the 2018 rate authorized 

by the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). Defendants reserve the right to 

oppose any request by Plaintiffs for compensation for fees and expenses 

incurred from July 1, 2018 through final approval of the Amended Consent 

Decree. The parties acknowledge that Court approval of the fees and 

expenses is required. 

The Court, having considered the pleadings on the motion, oral argument at the 

hearing, and the record in this case, and good cause appearing, now makes findings and 

ORDERS as follows: 

1. This is a class action certified pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 

23(b)(2), and the Court may award attorneys’ fees and costs to class counsel pursuant to 

Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(h). 

2. Plaintiffs are “prevailing parties” under the federal fee shifting statutes 42 

U.S.C. § 1983, 42 U.S.C. § 12205, and 29 U.S.C. § 794a(b). Plaintiffs are successful 

litigants under California’s private attorney general statute, Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1021.5. 

An award of attorney fees is appropriate under both Section 1021.5 and the separate 

federal fee-shifting statutes. 

Case 2:76-cv-00162-EFB Document 261 Filed 01/31/19 Page 2 of 4
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[3336315.3] 2

[PROPOSED] AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS

3. For work that Plaintiffs performed prior through June 30, 2018 on work 

related to claims under sections 12132 and 12188 of the Americans with Disabilities Act 

(“ADA”), section 794 of the Rehabilitation Act, Article I, Sections 7 and 17 of California 

Constitution, California Government Code § 11135, and California Code of Civil 

Procedure § 1021.5 (collectively, “ADA-related work”), Plaintiffs are entitled to 

compensation at their full market rates. 

4. For work that Plaintiffs’ counsel performed through June 30, 2018 on nonADA-related work and for all work that Plaintiffs’ counsel performed after July 1, 2018, 

Plaintiffs have agreed to be compensated at the rate set by the Prison Litigation Reform 

Act (“PLRA”). 18 U.S.C. § 3006A. For 2018, Defendants have agreed in the Amended 

Consent Decree that the PLRA rate is $220.50 per hour. 

5. The time Plaintiffs’ attorneys expended on this case was appropriate given 

the length, intensity, and nature of the litigation. In calculating their lodestar, Plaintiffs’ 

counsel have written off a total of approximately 10% of billable hours to date. The Court 

finds these billing judgment reductions to be reasonable and appropriate, in that they 

assure that Plaintiffs’ counsel have accounted for any undue duplication of effort or 

inefficiency. 

6. After reasonable billing judgment reductions, Plaintiffs’ lodestar for work 

performed through June 30, 2018 is $1,652,000.20, representing compensation for 6922 

hours of work invested in this case. For the period from July 1, 2018 through final 

approval of the Amended Consent Decree, Plaintiffs’ lodestar is $100,901, representing 

compensation for 457.4 additional hours of work invested in this case. 

7. Plaintiffs’ counsel is entitled to recover the expenses advanced to prosecute 

this litigation on behalf of the class. Plaintiffs have incurred costs and expenses of 

$68,782.81 through June 30, 2018. For the period from July 1, 2018 through final 

approval of the Amended Consent Decree, Plaintiffs have incurred costs and expenses of 

$2,010. 

8. Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiffs’ counsel’s total lodestar of fees 

Case 2:76-cv-00162-EFB Document 261 Filed 01/31/19 Page 3 of 4
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[3336315.3] 3

[PROPOSED] AMENDED ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS

and expenses through June 30, 2018 of $1,720,783.01 is reasonable and appropriate under 

federal and state law for the work performed and the success achieved for the class. This 

amount far exceeds the negotiated cap of $1.1 million for fees and expenses incurred 

through June 30, 2018. 

9. The Court also finds that Plaintiffs’ counsel’s total lodestar of fees and 

expenses from July 1, 2018 through final approval of $102,911 is reasonable and 

appropriate under federal and state law for the work performed and the success achieved 

for the class. 

10. For the period through June 30, 2018, Defendants are ordered to pay 

Plaintiffs’ $1,100,000 for reasonable attorneys’ fees, expenses, and costs. 

11. For the period from July 1, 2018 through final approval, Defendants are 

ordered to pay Plaintiffs’ $79,500 for reasonable attorneys’ fees, expenses, and costs. 

12. These amounts shall be paid within thirty (30) days of entry of this Order. 

Interest shall run commencing fifteen (15) days from the date of this Order, accruing at the 

rate provided by 28 U.S.C. § 1961. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

DATED: January 31, 2019. 

Case 2:76-cv-00162-EFB Document 261 Filed 01/31/19 Page 4 of 4