1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

Case No. 20-22694-Civ-WILLIAMS/TORRES

ROBERTO PAGUAGA,

Plaintiff,

v.

PINNACLE ONE PRICE DRY

CLEANING OF DAVIE, LLC d/b/a

PINNACLE CLEANERS, et al.,

Defendants.

___________________________________________/

ORDER ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTIONS FOR FEES AND COSTS

This matter is before the Court on Roberto Paguaga’s (“Plaintiff”) motions for 

attorney’s fees and costs against Pinnacle Cleaners (“Pinnacle”), Eric Draudt, and 

Galina Draudt (collectively, “Defendants”). [D.E. 127; 128]. Defendants responded 

to Plaintiff’s motions on April 12, 2022, [D.E. 129; 130], to which Plaintiff replied on 

April 18 and 19, 2022. [D.E. 131; 132]. Therefore, Plaintiff’s motions are now ripe 

for disposition. After careful review of the motion, response, reply, relevant 

authority, and for the reasons discussed below, Plaintiff’s motions are GRANTED 

in part and DENIED in part.

1

1 On June 2, 2022, the Honorable Kathleen M. Williams referred Plaintiff’s motions

for fees and costs to the Undersigned Magistrate Judge for disposition. [D.E. 133].

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I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff filed this action on June 30, 2020, asserting violations of the Fair 

Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 206(a) and 207(a), arising from alleged 

unpaid overtime wages and retaliatory actions by Defendants. [D.E. 1; 26]. 

Plaintiff claimed that he worked for Defendants at Pinnacle, a dry-cleaning services 

provider, from approximately June 2015 to August 9, 2019, and that, during this 

time, Defendants failed to compensate him for his overtime hours in breach of the 

FLSA. Specifically, Plaintiff alleged that his employment agreement with 

Defendants provided that he would be compensated at a rate of $18.17 per hour on 

a 40-hour work week, plus any applicable overtime. However, Defendants failed to 

pay him any overtime wages despite the fact that Plaintiff consistently worked from

3 to 14 hours of overtime per week throughout his time at Pinnacle. Plaintiff also 

alleged that he was ultimately fired from his job because he complaint to the 

Draudts about his improper compensation. Accordingly, Plaintiff sought to recover 

damages for unpaid overtime wages and retaliation from Defendants. 

On July 26, 2021, the parties proceeded to a five-day jury trial where the jury 

found that Defendants failed to pay Plaintiff his overtime wages as required under 

the FLSA. The jury delivered a verdict that was partially favorable to the Plaintiff, 

finding that Defendants were not guilty of retaliation but concluding that 

Defendants owed Plaintiff $3,318.75 for unpaid overtime wages from June 30, 2018, 

to June 30, 2020. [D.E. 104]. On February 2, 2022, the Court entered an order 

denying Defendants’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and granting 

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Plaintiff’s motion for entry of final judgment. [D.E. 120]. The Court then entered 

judgment in Plaintiff’s favor for a total sum of $6637.50, which included $3,318.75

in liquidated damages. [D.E. 122]. The Court also determined that Plaintiff was

the prevailing party with respect to the FLSA overtime claim only and reserved 

ruling on Plaintiff’s motion for reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. [D.E. 120; 122]. 

II. ANALYSIS

Plaintiff’s motion seeks $107,270 in attorney’s fees and $12,556.09 in costs. 

Defendants oppose the motion and take issue with Plaintiff’s fees and costs 

calculations because, in their view, (i) Mr. Duran’s $425 hourly rate is not 

consistent with the prevailing market rate that applies to lawyers with his level of 

FLSA practice experience; (ii) his lack of experience trying FLSA cases protracted 

the proceedings and multiplied Plaintiff’s litigation fees; (iii) Mr. Duran’s lodestar 

amount should be subject to a 50% across-the-board reduction because Plaintiff only 

prevail on his overtime claim;2 and (iv) several of the items in Plaintiff’s bill of costs 

should be deducted (including deposition, interpreter, and expedited fees) because 

they were excessive and unnecessary. [D.E. 129; 130]. As such, Defendants request 

that the Court reduce Plaintiff’s fees and costs to a more reasonable amount. 

We will turn first to the motion for costs and then address the parties’ 

disputes with respect to the motion for attorneys’ fees.

2 Alternatively, Defendants seek an hour-by-hour reduction of certain entries due to 

their clerical and nonrecoverable nature. 

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A. Plaintiff’s Motion for Costs3

Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(d)(1), a prevailing party is entitled to recover costs 

as a matter of course unless directed otherwise by a court or statute. A strong 

presumption exists in favor of awarding costs. Id. A court may tax as costs those 

expenses enumerated in 28 U.S.C. § 1920.4 See Crawford Fitting Co. v. J.T. 

Gibbons, Inc., 482 U.S. 437, 445 (1987) (absent explicit statutory or contractual 

authorization, federal courts are bound by the limitations set out in § 1920). “To 

defeat the presumption and deny full costs, a district court must have a sound basis 

for doing so.@ Chapman v. AI Transp., 229 F.3d 1012, 1039 (11th Cir. 2000). The 

court should not take into consideration the relative wealth of the parties, as it 

would undermine the presumption that Rule 54(d)(1) creates in favor of the 

prevailing parties. Id.

Upon the filing of a timely motion or bill of costs, which sets forth in detail 

the amounts requested, the opposing party has the burden of showing that the 

3 As a preliminary matter, we note that, contrary to Defendants’ claim, Plaintiff’s 

motion seeks to recover both attorney’s fees and costs: “Plaintiff also seeks to 

recover his taxable costs incurred in this case . . . pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920.” 

[D.E. 127 ¶ 11]. 

4 The following costs are permitted under 28 U.S.C. § 1920: 

(1) Fees of the clerk and marshal; 

(2) Fees for printed or electronically recorded transcripts necessarily

obtained for use in the case; 

(3) Fees and disbursements for printing and witnesses; 

(4) Fees for exemplification and the costs of making copies of any materials 

 where the copies are necessarily obtained for use in the case; 

(5) Docket fees under section 1923 of this title; 

(6) Compensation of court appointed experts, compensation of interpreters, 

 and salaries, fees, expenses, and costs of special interpretation services 

 under section 1828 of this title.

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requested costs fall outside the scope of this statute or are otherwise unreasonable. 

See, e.g., E.E.O.C. v. W&O, Inc., 213 F.3d 600, 620 (11th Cir. 2000) (affirming denial 

of motion for certain costs that were not timely objected to before the district court

because the “[f]ailure to raise an issue, objection or theory of relief in the first 

instance to the trial court generally is fatal”; “[this Rule applies] to a party’s failure 

to object to witness fees”) (citations omitted); Katz v. Chevaldina, 127 F. Supp. 3d 

1285, 1292 (S.D. Fla. 2015) (the burden lies with the challenging party to show that

deposition costs not recoverable as unrelated or unnecessary to any issue in the 

case). 

Here, Plaintiff requests $12,556.09 in costs under § 1920. These costs are 

comprised of the following items: $400 in filing fees, $1,390 in service of summons 

and subpoenas costs, $6,102.41 in deposition court reporting and transcripts costs, 

$1,308.68 in printing expenses, and $3,355 in interpreter costs. [D.E. 128 at 3]. 

Defendants challenge these costs, taking specific aim at (i) several of the costs 

associated with the serving of subpoenas on an expedited basis; (ii) the costs of 

serving subpoenas on witnesses who were not called to testify at trial; (iii) the costs 

incurred deposing witnesses whose testimony was not necessary; and (iv) the costs 

of printing and supplies for trial. [D.E. 130 at 2–4].

(1) Service of Process and Expedited Fees

Starting with Defendants’ objections to the costs attributed to service of 

deposition and trial-related subpoenas, we find that some of Defendants’ points 

have merit. “Pursuant to [Section] 1920(1), fees of the clerk and marshal may be 

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taxed as costs. This includes service of process costs.” James v. Wash Depot 

Holdings, Inc., 242 F.R.D. 645, 649 (S.D. Fla. 2007) (alteration and internal 

quotations marks omitted) (citing EEOC v. W & O Inc., 213 F.3d at 623). “The 

Eleventh Circuit has held that private process server fees may be taxed under 

[S]ections 1920(1) and 1921, so long as the taxable costs of the private process 

server are limited to the statutory fees authorized by [S]ection 1921.” Flagstar 

Bank, FSB v. Hochstadt, 2010 WL 1226112, at *9 (S.D. Fla. 2010) (footnote omitted) 

(citing W & O Inc., 213 F.3d at 624). “This is currently $65 per person per hour for 

each item served, plus travel costs and any other out-of-pocket expenses.” Cont'l 

332 Fund, LLC v. Hilz, 2020 WL 6595061, at *3 (M.D. Fla. 2020) (citing 28 C.F.R. § 

0.114(a)(3)). “[I]nvoices submitted to substantiate these expenses must ‘provide 

sufficient or intelligible details as to what exactly was paid for.’” Mid-Continent 

Cas. Co. v. JWN Constr., Inc., 2019 WL 8402872, at *3 (S.D. Fla. 2019) (alteration 

omitted) (quoting Cortez v. Tom Thumb Food Stores, Inc., 2013 WL 12383258, at *4 

(S.D. Fla. 2013)).

We agree with Defendants that the costs attributed to expedited, duplicative, 

or unduly costly service of subpoenas are excessive and warrant exclusion. “Service 

of process costs are included under § 1920, . . . but where a party seeks costs for 

multiple service attempts, the party must provide evidence justifying the need for 

multiple service attempts.” Ramos v. Arba Constr. Inc., No. 20-25192-CIV, 2021 

WL 4482659, at *3 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 25, 2021), report and recommendation adopted, 

No. 20-25192-CV, 2021 WL 4480169 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 30, 2021). Here, Plaintiff fails 

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to provide any evidence justifying the $200 fees incurred in performing multiple 

service attempts on both Mariana Mendez and Marilyn Williams. [D.E. 128 at 17–

18, 27–28]. As Defendants point out, it seems to make little sense for the server of 

process to have waited until the second attempt to serve Plaintiff’s co-workers at 

the one place where everyone knew they could be found for certain, at their 

workplace. Second, the bill of costs lists a $50 duplicative fee for service of 

summons on Eric Draudt, who was simultaneously served with another summons 

by the same server at the same exact place and time. Id. at 8–9. These

unexplained and duplicative costs are unjustified. 

Plaintiff also seeks $250 in costs associated with service of subpoenas on a

“priority” or “rush” basis but fails to justify the need for incurring these premium

costs, id. at 11, 25, as well as fees for the production of deposition transcripts on an 

expedited basis amounting to $823.5. Id. at 31, 33–34. Because unjustified 

expedited costs are not recoverable, these charges are properly excluded. See Osorio 

v. Dole Food Co., No. 07-22693-CIV, 2010 WL 3212065, at *11 (S.D. Fla. July 7, 

2010), report and recommendation adopted sub nom. Osorio v. Dole Food Co., No. 

07-22693-CIV, 2010 WL 3212062 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 12, 2010) (“The undersigned agrees

. . . that the ‘rush[]’ . . . fees are not recoverable.”). Plaintiff’s service costs, thus,

must be reduced by $1,323.5. 

We find that the remainder of Plaintiff’s service of subpoena costs are 

recoverable under § 1920. Defendants argue that this Court should strike all 

service (or deposition) costs except for those associated with witnesses who testified 

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at trial, but we are not persuaded by Defendants’ unsupported proposition. Indeed, 

this line of argument has been previously repeatedly rejected by our Court. See, 

e.g., Mendez v. Integrated Tech Grp., LLC, No. 18-22059-CIV, 2020 WL 6826355, at 

*4 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 20, 2020) (“Defendant raises issue with the costs incurred for the 

transcripts of [witnesses] because they did not testify at trial, but Plaintiff's election 

not to call these witnesses at trial does not, standing alone, demonstrate that it was 

not necessary to depose them. . . . [T]he Court will consider all listed transcripts as 

[covered by § 1920].”); Barrera v. Weiss & Woolrich S., 900 F. Supp. 2d 1328, 1333 

(S.D. Fla. 2012) (“The Undersigned agrees that Defendants have the latitude to 

subpoena witnesses and subsequently decline to call them at trial. Therefore, the 

Undersigned recommends that costs be awarded to Defendants for these 

subpoenas”).

Here, it is undisputed that all the individuals in question were either coworkers of Plaintiff or had relevant information regarding Plaintiff’s duties and 

responsibilities at Pinnacle. Indeed, as Plaintiff points out, several of these 

depositions were animated in large part by the need to explore the factual and legal 

soundness of the several overtime exception defenses put forth by Defendants. 

Thus, we find that these subpoenas and depositions “were sufficiently related to the 

claims and issues in this case, even if many of the served individuals were not 

called to testify at trial,” Garcia v. J & J, Inc., No. 19-CV-60728, 2021 WL 633377, 

at *9 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 1, 2021), report and recommendation adopted sub nom. Garcia 

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v. J&J, Inc., No. 19-CV-60728, 2021 WL 616529 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 17, 2021), and 

Plaintiff is entitled to recover their cost. 

(2) Translation and Copying Costs

Plaintiff seeks $1,308.68 in costs associated with the copying of documents as 

well as purchase of supplies for trial. Defendants’ take issue primarily with the

$344.29 and $864 fees associated with Plaintiff’s printing of nine separate copies of 

the same 380-page exhibit binder. We agree with Defendants that these expenses

were unreasonable and excessive. In his reply Plaintiff notes that these costs were 

incurred to create jury exhibit binders for each juror, but he fails to explain why 

this FLSA case with no unusual characteristics made it necessary to provide each 

single juror with a massive exhibit binder in the first place. While providing every 

single juror with an exhibit binder may have aided Plaintiff’s presentation of his 

theory of his case at trial, Plaintiff fails to meet his burden of showing that the costs 

stemming from this convenience were necessary for the prosecution of the case. 

Therefore, we agree with Defendants that it is not reasonable to expect them to pay 

for these extraordinary costs.

Turning to Defendants’ objections to some of the costs associated with 

translation and interpretation services, we find that all these costs were reasonably 

necessary in the prosecution of Plaintiff’s case and, as such, are recoverable under § 

1920. See J & J, Inc., 2021 WL 633377 at *8 (where translation and interpreter 

services are necessary, “Plaintiffs should be reimbursed for these costs.”); Rodriguez 

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v. Marble Care Int'l, Inc., 862 F. Supp. 2d 1316, 1321 (S.D. Fla. 2012) 

(recommending approval of costs for interpreter used at plaintiffs’ deposition). 

In sum, having found that Plaintiff’s costs should be reduced in the amount of 

$2,531.79, Plaintiff’s motion for costs is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part

for a total costs award of $10,025.11. 

B. Plaintiff’s Motion for Attorneys’ Fees

The next motion this Order addresses is Plaintiff’s request for $107,270 in 

attorneys’ fees. In determining an appropriate fee award, we employ the lodestar 

method. See City of Burlington v. Dague, 505 U.S. 557, 562 (1992) (“The ‘lodestar 

figure has, as its name suggests, become the guiding light of our fee-shifting 

jurisprudence. We have established a ‘strong presumption’ that the lodestar 

represents the ‘reasonable’ fee”). This method allows for a reasonable estimate of 

the value of an attorney’s service because the movant submits evidence “supporting 

the hours worked and rates claimed.” Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433. If the movant’s 

documentation of hours worked is inadequate, “the district court may reduce the 

award accordingly.” Id. 

The lodestar method requires the Court to first determine an attorney’s 

reasonable hourly rate, and to multiply that rate by the number of hours reasonably 

expended. See, e.g., Loranger v. Stierheim, 10 F.3d 776, 781 (11th Cir. 1994);

Norman v. Housing Auth. Of Montgomery, 836 F.2d 1292, 1299 (11th Cir. 1988); see 

also Harbaugh v. Greslin, 365 F. Supp. 2d 1274, 1279 (S.D. Fla. 2005). Following 

the Court’s calculation, “the court must next consider the necessity of an 

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adjustment for results obtained.” Norman, 836 F.2d at 1302. Accordingly, when 

awarding fees, the Court must allow meaningful review of its decision and 

“articulate the decisions it made, give principled reasons for those decisions, and 

show its calculation.” Id. at 1304 (citation omitted). 

In awarding attorneys’ fees, “courts are not authorized to be generous with 

the money of others, and it is as much the duty of courts to see that excessive fees 

and expenses are not awarded as it is to see that an adequate amount is awarded.” 

ACLU of Ga. v. Barnes, 168 F.3d 423, 428 (11th Cir. 1999). Courts, however, have 

considerable discretion when determining whether a party to a case should receive 

a fee award. See Cullens v. Georgia Dept. Of Transp., 29 F.3d 1489, 1492-1493 

(11th Cir. 1994) (emphasizing that the district court is “empowered to exercise 

discretion in determining whether an award is to be made and if so its 

reasonableness.”). 

An award must be reasonable and must fall within the guidelines for fee 

awards promulgated by the Eleventh Circuit. See Norman, 836 F.2d at 1299-1302. 

It is consequently within a court’s ultimate discretion to adjust the fees to an 

amount it deems proper according to the Eleventh Circuit’s parameters. See, e.g., 

Columbus Mills, Inc. v. Freeland, 918 F.2d 1575, 1580 (11th Cir. 1990) (“[T]he 

Norman Court left to the discretion of the district court the decision of whether to 

prune excessive hours”); Cullens, 29 F.3d at 1492 (“[W]e reemphasize that the 

district court has discretion in determining the amount of a fee award. This is 

appropriate in view of the district court’s superior understanding of the litigation 

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and the desirability of avoiding frequent appellate review of what essentially are 

factual matters.”) (quotation omitted). 

(1) The Reasonable Hourly Rate

The first step is to consider the reasonable hourly rate. This rate is defined 

as “the prevailing market rate in the relevant legal community for similar services 

by lawyers of reasonably comparable skills, experience and reputation.@ Loranger, 

10 F.3d at 781 (quoting Norman, 836 F.2d at 1299). The relevant market is “the 

place where the case is filed.” ACLU, 168 F.3d at 427 (internal quotation marks 

and citation omitted). Here, the relevant legal community is South Florida.

Several factors may be considered in arriving at that prevailing market rate, 

as set forth in Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc. 488 F.2d 714, 717-719 (5th 

Cir. 1974). The movant is required to submit to the Court satisfactory evidence to 

establish that the requested rate accurately reflects the prevailing market rate. See

Duckworth v. Whisenant, 97 F.3d 1393, 1396 (11th Cir. 1996); Norman, 836 F.2d at 

1299 (finding that the burden lies with fee applicant “of producing satisfactory 

evidence that the requested rate is in line with prevailing market rates” and 

“satisfactory evidence necessarily must speak to rates actually billed and paid in 

similar lawsuits.”). Ultimately, the Court remains an expert on the issue of hourly 

rates in its community and may properly consider “its own knowledge and 

experience concerning reasonable and proper fees and may form an independent 

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judgment either with or without the aid of witnesses as to value.” Loranger, 10 

F.3d at 781 (quoting Norman, 836 F.2d at 1303).5

Here, Plaintiff requests an hourly rate of $425 for his counsel, Pelayo M. 

Duran a solo practitioner who has been admitted to the Florida Bar since 1998. 

[D.E. 127-1 ¶¶ 1–3]. Defendants vigorously dispute Plaintiff’s requested fee as 

excessive and submit that such fee is far beyond what courts in Southern Florida 

award to lawyers with similar FLSA experience. According to Defendants, 

Mr. Duran’s fee should be set at an hourly rate of $375, which more accurately 

reflects the prevailing rate in our market. [D.E. 129 at 3–4]. Among other things, 

Defendants include a signed affidavit by their lead counsel, Kimberly A. Gilmour, 

wherein Ms. Gilmour states that lawyers with arguably much more practical 

experience and FLSA expertise than Mr. Duran are regularly awarded no more 

than $375 in Southern Florida. [D.E. 129-2]. 

5 The 12 Johnson factors are as follows:

(1) the time and labor required;

(2) the novelty and difficulty of the questions;

(3) the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly;

(4) the preclusion of other employment;

(5) the customary fee;

(6) whether the fee is fixed or contingent;

(7) the time limitations imposed by the client or circumstances;

(8) the amount involved and the results obtained;

(9) the experience, reputation and ability of the attorneys;

(10) the undesirability of the case;

(11) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client; 

and

(12) the awards in similar cases.

Johnson, 488 F.2d at 717-719.

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Exercising our own expertise in awarding attorney’s fees in similar cases, 

together with a review of the record and supporting materials attached to the 

motion, we find that a $400 hourly rate is the most reasonable rate at this time for 

Plaintiff’s counsel, Mr. Duran. Although Mr. Duran asserts that he has handled 

“hundreds of discrimination-related cases, including many cases brought under the 

ADA and FLSA,” [D.E. 127-1 ¶ 3], he does not dispute Defendants’ points that this

case represents Mr. Duran’s first federal jury trial, and that his record on FLSA 

cases in federal court does not go beyond a handful of cases. [D.E. 129 at 2–4]. 

Based on this alone, we find it actually justifiable to award Mr. Duran more than 

$375 per hour, an hourly rate that is “at the high end of the range of rates charged 

in the Southern District of Florida for . . . FLSA lawyers.” Echavarria v. Am. Valet 

Parking, No. 14-80770-CIV, 2015 WL 12746113, at *2 (S.D. Fla. July 1, 2015). 

On the other hand, given the passage of time since that 2015 case and the 

Court’s knowledge of the movement of the market in our District, an adjusted 

amount of $400 per hour is the proper rate to award in this case for Mr. Duran’s 

level of experience.

The cases that Plaintiff cites in support of his $425 fee request are certainly 

relevant but not dispositive. As Defendants rightly point out, most of those cases 

were ADA cases with readily distinguishable facts. For instance, Ariza v. Untuckit

was a case that did not go to trial, it involved only a fraction of the hours involved 

here, and the defaulted defendants did not object to the amount of fees requested. 

Tellingly, in Ariza the court premised its award of $425 per hour on the fact that 

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“Plaintiff achieved the full measure of success sought” in that litigation, which 

made his litigation efforts fully “successful”. See Ariza v. Untuckit, LLC, No. 19-CV24291, 2020 WL 408241, at *2 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 24, 2020). Here, by contrast, it is 

undisputed that Mr. Duran did not “achieve the full measure of success” possible, as 

Plaintiff only prevailed in one of his two counts, his overtime rate was set at 

half-time rather than time-and-a-half, and he was only awarded $3318.75 of the 

$11,472.96 to $53,540.48 estimated range of due overtime articulated in Plaintiff’s 

statement of claim. [D.E. 9; 104]. 

In sum, given counsel’s level of FLSA experience and reputation in the 

community, the mixed results he obtained for his client here, and the lack of 

unusual characteristics and complexity in this standard FLSA overtime case, an 

hourly rate of $400, which is on the lower end of the spectrum for partner level 

work, is appropriate here. See Nicaty v. Smarkusky, No. 18-63113-CIV, 2019 WL

2568838, at *2 (S.D. Fla. June 14, 2019) (finding hourly rate of $425 excessive in 

FLSA case and reducing it to $375 per hour).

Defendant cites many examples of less-than-stellar performance by counsel 

during the trial, as well as the pretrial phase of the litigation. Counsel, for 

instance, filed a dubious motion for partial summary judgment, and even that 

motion required unnecessary judicial and attorney labor in responding to it. 

Additionally, Defendant points out various instances where counsel failed to fully 

comply with the Court’s Rules during the litigation, which caused the same 

problem. But, even taking all these points into account, there are also many 

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positive contributions that counsel made during the case, not the least of which was 

ultimately trying the case to a federal jury and achieving a material result for the 

client. Thus, on balance, counsel is entitled to a typical FLSA hourly rate for a 

partner at his level. The $400 rate achieves that balance.

(2) The Reasonable Number of Hours Expended

The second step of the lodestar analysis requires the Court to determine the 

reasonable number of hours expended. The award must exclude compensation for 

hours Athat would be unreasonable to bill to a client and therefore to one’s adversary 

irrespective of the skill, reputation, or experience of counsel.@ A.C.L.U. of Ga., 168 

F.3d at 428 (quoting Norman, 836 F.2d at 1301) (emphasis in original). The fee 

applicant bears the burden of establishing that the time for which compensation is 

sought was reasonably expended on the litigation and must provide the Court with 

specific and detailed evidence that will allow for an accurate determination of the 

amount of fees to award. Id. If the fee applicant fails to exercise required billing 

judgment, the Court is obligated to A[prune] out those [hours] that are excessive, 

redundant, or otherwise unnecessary.@ Id. As in the analysis of reasonable hourly 

rates, the Court is presumed to be an expert in reviewing the number of hours 

expended on litigation for the purpose of attorney=s fees. Norman, 836 F.2d at 1303. 

Accordingly, it is Aperfectly proper to award attorney’s fees based solely on affidavits 

in the record.@ Id. at 1303 (citing Mesa Petroleum Co. v. Coniglio, 629 F.2d 1022, 

1030 (5th Cir. 1980)).

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Here, Plaintiff seeks to recover fees for a total of 252.4 hours litigating this 

case. Plaintiff highlights that his calculation already accounts for a reduction of 51 

hours that Plaintiff agreed to deduct following two meet and confers between the 

parties. Our review of the time records submitted in the record that evidence these 

reductions shows that they were, in fact, appropriate deductions and lessen the 

time that the Court had to take in reviewing all the time entries anew.

Yet, our review of the adjusted time records indicates that these time entires 

are still excessive in part given that this was a single-plaintiff case involving 

straightforward FLSA issues. Moreover, the time records submitted contain 

numerous entries that either bill excessively for the task at hand, reflect work done 

by Mr. Duran that could have been accomplished by paralegals, or fail to describe 

with sufficient particularity the activity billed for making it difficult to assess 

whether the activity was something that required the knowledge and experience of 

a lawyer.

For instance, time spent preparing and circulating zoom links, reviewing 

docket orders, placing telephone calls, and monitoring the filings on the docket, are 

the types of tasks that do not warrant a $400 rate. [D.E. 127-7 at 18, 29, 34]. 

Additionally, other categories of time included in the revised submission should also 

be excluded. Time taken to file a quite meritless motion for summary judgment will 

not be awarded. Not only was it meritless, but it was also procedurally defective in 

various ways, as the Court’s Order on the motion points out. Thus, it is not 

reasonable to incur these additional hours of time for such a time-waster, which 

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counsel would have realized had he had more experience in this particular type of 

case. So, the time incurred in the filing and prosecution of the motion for summary 

judgment will also be excised as that time reaped no value to the overall outcome of 

the case.

At the same time, however, the time records also reveal a great deal of work

pursuing relevant discovery, briefing necessary motions with the Court, developing 

the Plaintiff’s case, and prosecuting the case at trial. That time is obviously 

compensable after the Court makes the appropriate adjustments for noncompensable time. 

“When a district court finds the number of hours claimed is unreasonably 

high, the court has two choices: it may conduct an hour-by-hour analysis or it may 

reduce the requested hours with an across-the-board cut.” Bivins v. Wrap It Up, 

Inc., 548 F. 3d 1348, 1350 (11th Cir. 2008) (citing Loranger, 10 F.3d at 783). A court 

may not, however, do both. See Bivins, 548 F.3d at 1351-1352 (explaining that “by 

requiring the district court to conduct either analysis instead of both, we ensure 

that the district court does not doubly-discount the requested hours”). In deciding 

between the two options available to the Court, an hour-by-hour approach is 

sometimes preferable while at other times the “fee documentation can be so 

voluminous as to render an hour-by-hour review impractical.” Loranger, 10 F.3d at 

783 (holding that where the billing record is voluminous, “the district court need not 

engage in an hour-by-hour analysis[; r]ather, . . . it may [ ] reduce [the hours 

devoted to litigation] in gross if a review of the resubmitted fee request warrants 

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such a reduction”) (emphasis added). “In such cases, an across-the-board cut may 

be appropriate, as long as a court ‘articulate[s] [its] reasons for selecting specific 

percentage reductions.’” Roy v. Bd. Of Cty. Comm'rs, Walton Cty., Fla., 2012 WL 

8013976, at *4 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 1, 2012), Report and Recommendation adopted, 2013 

WL 1883247 (N.D. Fla. May 6, 2013) (quoting Loranger, 10 F.3d at 783).

An across-the-board reduction is preferable here because, although the Court

reviewed the billing records submitted, the records are too voluminous to take an

hour-by-hour approach. And after taking into consideration the errors previously

identified in the billing records, we find that the number of attorney hours be 

reduced by an additional 15% to reflect a more reasonable amount of time spent 

properly prosecuting this action. Cf. Valencia v. Affiliated Grp., Inc., 674 F. Supp. 

2d 1300, 1311 (S.D. Fla. 2009) (reducing fees by 60% to fairly reflect the time and 

effort that should have gone into the case from its inception through its conclusion). 

With this reduction we are left with 214.54 hours of recoverable time at an hourly 

rate of $400, which yields a net lodestar fee calculation of $85,816.00.

(3) The Requested Lodestar Adjustment

We must now determine whether this final lodestar amount should be 

enhanced or reduced. A reduction in fees is warranted if the record shows a 

demonstrable lack of success for the prevailing party. Dillard v. City of Greensboro, 

213 F.3d 1347, 1354-55 (11th Cir. 1987) (reducing the lodestar by 90% for lack of 

success, even though plaintiff obtained an admission of liability); Andrews v. United 

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States, 122 F.3d 1367, 1376 (11th Cir. 1997) (reducing fees by 88%, even though 

plaintiffs received approximately $49,000 in damages).

Here, the case for a wholesale reduction in the lodestar is mixed. Although

Plaintiff’s counsel did not obtain the full extent of success possible, he nevertheless

obtained a material result for his client. The amount obtained, $3,318.75, 

represents almost 86% of the overtime hours he demanded in the statement of claim 

at the low end of the possible range of damages. The jury awarded Plaintiff most of 

the hours he requested at that low end range, in the light most favorable to 

Defendant, calculated on a half-time rate basis. And though Defendant is critical of 

counsel in not properly understanding that this damage calculation was the only

possible remedy available in the case, in fairness Plaintiff’s counsel identified such 

a possible outcome in the statement of claim, while leaving open the possibility that 

Plaintiff could obtain greater damages. In this manner, it is hard to argue that 

counsel was so greatly aggrandizing the claim to render the ultimate verdict on the 

overtime issue grossly unreasonable when juxtaposed against the fee request.

On the other hand, the same statement of claim concluded that the high end 

of the overtime claim could reach $106,000 (based on a possible overtime recovery of 

$53,000 liquidated). Defendant points out that this disparity evidences the 

unreasonable manner by which counsel prosecuted the case, and that this wild-eyed

demand also explains why the case could not be settled despite two mediations and 

one settlement conference. Utilizing this excessive demand, even putting aside the 

separate amount Plaintiff was purportedly owed for the unsuccessful retaliation 

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claim, the ultimate $6,700 recovery represents just over six percent of what Plaintiff 

and his inexperienced counsel thought the case was worth. 

Moreover, the jury rejected two important aspects of the Plaintiff’s case. The 

jury found in Defendant’s favor on the retaliation claim. The jury then found that

Defendant’s failure to comply with the FLSA was not based on knowing or reckless 

conduct, thus denying Plaintiff an additional year’s worth of damages. Defendant 

maintains that this limited success does not warrant the type of fee recovery 

demanded in this case, thus justifying a material reduction in the amount of hours 

awarded or a substantial adjustment to the lodestar (citing cases to analogous 

reductions in the neighborhood of 65 to 85 percent).

In analyzing the parties’ position in the case, we note that many cases 

dealing with lodestar reductions share an important characteristic: the plaintiff 

almost always needlessly persists or prolongs the litigation by making outrageous

or grossly unreasonable settlement demands. See, e.g., Dillard, 213 F.3d at 1356 

(“Thus, in short, the plaintiffs’ work had no articulable value, even as part of a war 

of attrition, after the City accepted the possibility of a fully remedial plan in June 

1994.”); Popham v. City of Kennesaw, 820 F.2d 1570, 1581 (11th Cir. 1987) (67% 

reduction justified because jury awarded $30,000 damages but plaintiff demanded 

more than $2 million throughout the course of litigation); James, 489 F. Supp. 2d at 

1352 (“In this case, in light of the fact that the Plaintiff initially sought to recover 

over $600,000 and ultimately prevailed on a jury verdict of $1,746.81, plus a 

liquidated damages award, for a total award of $3,493.62, the Court finds that this 

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case merits a reduction for limited recovery.”). The litigation stances in these cases 

ultimately caused unnecessary work to be performed, which justified a reduction in 

the lodestar to account for the unnecessarily litigious strategies of the prevailing 

party.

As Defendants acknowledge in their response, they never made an offer of 

judgment to the Plaintiff in this case. Indeed, our recollection of the settlement 

conference demonstrated Plaintiff’s counsel’s willingness to negotiate in good faith 

while also zealously advocating for the best interests of his client. Defendant was 

insistent throughout the case that the Plaintiff had no case because he was exempt, 

thus Defendant’s own settlement posture made resolution impossible or 

extraordinarily difficult. In this manner the record here presents a stark contrast 

with others that have penalized extortion-like fee requests with lodestar 

adjustments. Cf. Walker v. Iron Sushi LLC, 752 F. App'x 910, 915 (11th Cir. 2018)

(“[I]t is clear that a rejected settlement is an appropriate factor to consider in 

assessing the reasonableness of a request for attorney fees.”); Goss v. Killian Oaks 

House of Learning, 248 F. Supp. 2d 1162, 1168 (S.D. Fla. 2003) (denying fee request 

and admonishing counsel’s strategy of “shaking down” defendants “with 

nightmarishly expensive litigation” and avoidance of “prompt out-of-court 

resolution” for the sole purpose of larger attorney fee award). 

And to further that point, not only did Plaintiff recover a material amount of 

overtime damages, but also Plaintiff successfully turned back the primary issue 

raised by Defendants – that Plaintiff was an exempt salaried employee who was not 

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entitled to any overtime pay. The jury rejected that defense, but only after 

extensive pretrial litigation was undertaken on that issue as well as a substantial 

amount of the trial itself. So, Plaintiff may not have achieved everything he asked 

for, but he certainly achieved enough to negate the argument that this case was all 

about fees for counsel and nothing else. Clearly both the jury’s verdict and the trial 

Judge’s award of liquidated damages on the overtime award support Plaintiff’s right 

to claim a material fee recovery in the case.

After taking all these factors into account, we agree with Defendants that a 

further lodestar adjustment is required to address the more limited success 

obtained in the case. But that adjustment need not be as drastic as Defendants 

suggest because this case stands on far different footing from those cited in 

Defendants’ opposition. Four considerations inform our analysis.

To begin with, there is no doubt that a reasonable fee award is not merely a 

mechanical calculation based on the amount demanded against the amount 

received. Such a proportionality calculation would yield, for instance, only a fee 

award of about $6,400 in this case (given a six percent recovery on the overtime 

claim from the amount sought before trial to the final award after trial). But 

Eleventh Circuit caselaw strongly rejects such an approach because statutes like 

the FLSA cannot be properly enforced by limiting fee awards in this manner. See

P&K Rest. Enter., LLC v. Jackson, 758 F. App’x 844, 850 (11th Cir. 2019) (rejecting 

defense theory that $118,894.20 is an excessive fee award for an FLSA case with a 

$6,308 jury verdict) (citing James, 489 F. Supp. 2d at 1347 (S.D. Fla. 2007) (“Fee 

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awards . . . should not simply be proportionate to the results obtained by the 

Plaintiff.”); Tyler v. Westway Auto. Serv. Ctr., Inc., No. 02-61667-CIV, 2005 WL 

6148128, at *5 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 10, 2005) (noting that it is not uncommon for fee 

requests to exceed the judgment in FLSA cases)).

Second, strict proportionality aside, a trial court should take into account the 

disparity between the ultimate judgment awarded and the amount of fees incurred. 

This “fee-to-judgment ratio” was an issue, for instance, in the P&K case just as it is 

here. 758 App’x at 850 (“there is room to quibble with the district court's decision to 

award a fully compensatory fee here. The fee-to-judgment ratio is large.”). And it is 

also particularly relevant where some of the plaintiff’s claims were rejected in the 

case (like a retaliation claim that the jury rejected). Id. (retaliation claim was 

dismissed at summary judgment). 

Third, in adjusting a lodestar one should pay careful attention to whether a 

successful plaintiff is being penalized twice based on the level of success achieved. 

In other words, if that level of success was a factor in the reduction of “unnecessary” 

hours at arriving at the lodestar, then that same factor should not be dispositive in 

further reducing the lodestar. See, e.g., Martinez v. Hernando Cnty. Sheriff's Off., 

579 F. App'x 710, 715 (11th Cir. 2014) (affirming 75% reduction in lodestar based on 

limited success at trial because district court did not impermissibly “double count” 

by relying on that same factor in determining the lodestar figure). 

And, fourth, the assessment of the level of success must take into account the 

overall fairness of the outcome and the importance of enforcing federal law. It is 

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fair, for instance, to acknowledge a limited level of success based on an amount 

awarded, but that cannot be divorced from the court evaluating the time and effort 

that the plaintiff was forced to undertake in getting there. See, e.g., Rodriguez v. 

Molina Healthcare Inc., 806 F. App’x 797, 805 (11th Cir. 2020) (“Plaintiffs’ success 

should not be measured solely by the size of their recovery. Rather, the district 

court considered it important and beneficial to the public that the FLSA was 

successfully enforced”) (affirming $488,875 fee award for FLSA plaintiffs that 

settled shortly before trial for three percent of the original amount claimed in part 

because defendants did not concede liability until the end of the case).

Applying these factors here, we reject a strict proportionality award as the 

Eleventh Circuit counsels us. Instead, a fairer measure of the case is a ten-to-one 

ratio of fees to damages awarded that yields a fee award of $66,000, which is not too 

far off from where the lodestar starts. See Martinez, 579 F. App'x at 715 (affirming 

lodestar adjustment that netted FLSA plaintiff a ten-to-one ratio of fees to damages 

award). The Court has taken into account the unsuccessful retaliation claim by 

excising time entries focused on that claim from the lodestar calculation. Thus it is 

unfair to double-dip by relying on the failed retaliation claim in the lodestar 

adjustment process. And the Court’s judgment is informed by its review of the 

whole record that shows that time and effort had to be undertaken to defeat 

Defendants’ principal defense to the overtime claim – that Plaintiff was exempt in 

the first place. Having successfully overcome that defense, the jury’s award 

represents one measure of damages that Plaintiff claimed from the start of the case. 

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So there can be no surprise to Defendants if a material fee award follows based on 

the outcome of the trial. At the same time, however, it can also be fairly concluded 

that Plaintiff’s higher-end damages claim made it more difficult to settle the case at 

an earlier more efficient time. So that should also be considered in arriving at a 

final lodestar adjustment.

Having considered all these factors, the Court finds that the lodestar should 

be adjusted in the case, but only by an additional 30% reduction. Given the lodestar 

calculation of $85,816.00, such a reduction in the lodestar yields a final amount of 

$60,071.20. That amount represents the fairest fee award that the record supports.

III. CONCLUSION

Plaintiff’s motion for taxable costs is GRANTED in part and DENIED in 

part and Plaintiff is awarded a total cost recovery of $10,025.11.

Plaintiff’s motion for attorneys’ fees is GRANTED in part and DENIED in 

part and Plaintiff is entitled to a total fee award of $60,071.20.6

DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Miami, Florida, this 7th day of 

March, 2023.

/s/ Edwin G. Torres 

EDWIN G. TORRES

United States Magistrate Judge

6 The motions are adjudicated by Order for administrative purposes. The parties 

retain the right to appeal any aspect of this Order under Rule 4(a) and may also 

seek de novo review for that purpose. Failure to file an appeal with the District 

Judge precludes the filing of any appeal to the Court of Appeals and will operate as 

the parties’ consent to entry of judgment on this Order.

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