Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_14-cv-02941/USCOURTS-cand-3_14-cv-02941-4/pdf.json

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

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

VFS LEASING CO.,

 Plaintiff, 

 v. 

USASIA CASINO 

TOURS/ENTERTAINMENT, INC., et 

al., 

 Defendants. 

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Case No. 14-cv-02941-SC

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR 

ATTORNEY'S FEES AND COSTS 

Now before the Court is Plaintiff VFS Leasing Co.'s ("VFS") 

motion for attorney's fees and costs. Defendants have never 

appeared or participated in this litigation, and the Court entered 

default judgment against them and in favor of VFS on January 6, 

2015. ECF Nos. 22, 23. Nor have Defendants filed any opposition 

to the motion, which the Court took under submission without oral 

argument on March 4, 2015. See ECF No. 26. 

VFS seeks $625.00 in costs, for the $400 filing fee and $225 

in costs to serve Defendants. See ECF No. 24-1 ("Morton Decl.") ¶ 

16. The Court finds that VFS is entitled to recover its costs 

Case 3:14-cv-02941-SC Document 27 Filed 03/26/15 Page 1 of 3
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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California 

expended in this litigation. 

Regarding attorney's fees, both the master lease agreement and 

guaranty at issue in this case provide for the recovery of 

attorney's fees in the event of a dispute. The master lease 

agreement permits the recovery of "reasonable attorney's fees and 

expenses" in the event of "any dispute between the parties." 

Morton Decl. Ex. A1 at 4. It also permits the lessor (VFS) to 

recover "all costs and expenses, including attorney's fees, 

incurred by Lessor in the enforcement of its rights and remedies" 

in the event of a default. Id. Defendants' guarantors also agreed 

that "[i]n the event of any dispute regarding this Guarranty, 

Guarantor agrees to pay all costs and expenses of the Creditor 

[VFS] (including reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses)." Morton 

Decl. Ex. B at 1. Therefore, the Court finds that VFS is entitled 

to recover its reasonable attorney's fees. 

The Court agrees with VFS that the lodestar method is the 

proper means of calculating the fees VFS may recover. See Meister 

v. Regents of Univ. of Cal., 67 Cal. App. 4th 437, 446 (Cal. Ct. 

App. 1998) (finding that the "trial court was required to utilize 

the lodestar method" where "no other method of calculation was 

provided for"). No other method of calculation is provided for in 

this case; the basis for the recovery of attorney's fees is 

contractual, and the relevant contracts do not specify a preferred 

method. Under the lodestar method, the fee award is calculated "by 

computing a 'touchstone' amount based on a careful compilation of 

the time spent and reasonable hourly compensation and augmenting or 

diminishing this touchstone amount based on a number of relevant 

factors." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). 

Case 3:14-cv-02941-SC Document 27 Filed 03/26/15 Page 2 of 3
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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California 

VFS seeks $4,986.50 in fees, based on 12 hours of attorney 

time at $290 per hour (for a total of $3,480), and 13.1 hours1

 of 

paralegal time at $115 per hour (for a total of $1506.5). In 

support of that claim, it has submitted a summary of its time spent 

on the case, as well as the hourly rate of each attorney or 

paralegal who worked on the case. Morton Decl. Ex. 2. The Court 

finds VFS's request to be reasonable, both in terms of the time its 

attorneys and staff spent on the litigation and the rates they 

charged. 

For the reasons set forth above, VFS' motion is GRANTED. VFS 

shall submit its bill of costs within fourteen (14) days of the 

signature date of this Order, or risk waiving its costs award. 

 IT IS SO ORDERED. 

 Dated: March 26, 2015 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

 

1

 The Morton Declaration itself inexplicably states that only 8.8 

hours of paralegal time were expended on the case. See Morton 

Decl. ¶ 15. At an hourly rate of $115, that would come to a 

total of $1,012, about $500 less than VFS requests. However, the 

Court's review of VFS' attorneys' time sheets reveals that 13.1 

hours of paralegal time were actually expended on this case. See 

id. Ex. 2. At an hourly rate of $115, that comes to a total of 

$1,506.50, the amount VFS requests. 

Case 3:14-cv-02941-SC Document 27 Filed 03/26/15 Page 3 of 3