Minuxe Order Fin (06197)

United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois

David H. Coar Suing Sud Oe
CASE NUMBER 01 C 8535 DATE 2/19/2003
CASE Eileen Terry vs. David D. Post, et al.
TITLE

MOTION:

[In the following box (a) indicate the party filing the motion, ¢.g,, plaintiff, defendant, 3rd party plaintiff, and (b) state briefly the nature

of the motion being presented.]

Plaintiff's Application for Fees

DOCKET ENTRY:

(1) oO Filed motion of [ use listing in “Motion” box above.]

(2) o Brief in support of motion due

(3) oO Answer brief to motion due. . Reply to answer brief due,

(4) Oo Ruling/Hearing on set for at

(5) oa Status hearing[held/continued to] [set for/re-set for] on set for at

(6) Oo Pretrial conference[held/continued to] [set for/re-set for] on set for at

(7) ob Trial[set for/re-set for] on at

(8) i) [Bench/Jury trial] [Hearing] held/continued to at

(9) a This case is dismissed [with/without] prejudice and without costs[by/agreement/pursuant to]

OFRCP4(m) CO Local Rule 41.1 COFRCP41(a)(1) OO FRCP41(a)(2).

(0) MM [Otherdocketentry] Plaintiffs Application for Fees connected to her Motion to Remand is granted
for the reasons given in the attached opinion and order. The sum of $2,260.00 are allowed
for costs, fees and expenses. Defendant Ronald Nagler and his attorney
John Xydakis are ordered to pay $2, “Dp fo plaintift ‘ined ||0 Terry.

(1) ff [For further detail see order attached to the original minute order.]

No notices required, advised in open court.

No notives required. AA voices

Notices mailed by judge’s staff. FEB 2 2003

Notified counsel by telephone. dase docketed
# | Docketing to mail notices. ) ve

Mail AO 450 form. 1un09 194 docheng deputy nals

Copy to judge/magistrate judge. . eB 26 2003

date mailed notion

JM.

jar/le courtroom
deputy’s

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central Clerk’s Office



IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

EASTERN DIVISION
EILEEN TERRY )
) No. 01 C 8535
Plaintiff, )
) HONORABLE DAVID H. COAR
Y. )
4 DOCKETS
DAVID D. POST, et al. ) CKE s £0
) FEB 2 6 2003
Defendants. )
OPINION AND ORDER

This matter comes before the Court upon Plaintiff Eileen Terry’s Application for Fees,
submitted with the Motion to Remand the matter to state court. On December 6, 2001, this Court
granted the Motion to Remand the case to State Court. With the Motion to Remand, Plaintiff
filed an Application for Fees to recover expenses, fees, and costs associated with the remand
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). The Court has received full briefing on the Application for
Fees.

Plaintiff, through her attorney, has submitted a request for payment for 11.0 hours of
attorney time at $200 per hour and $60 for out of pocket expenses associated with the commute
to and from the courthouse. Defendant’s response argues that the case was not removed to
federal court in bad faith so Plaintiff should not be entitled to recover her costs, or in the
alternative, that Plaintiff’s request for costs is unreasonably high.

On the Motion to Remand, the Court found that the removal of the case to federal court
was utterly lacking in merit. (Min. Ord. of Hon. David H. Coar, 12/6/2001) This finding is

sufficient to justify the award of Plaintiff's requested fees and costs under the statute.


me

Furthermore, Plaintiff's request is not unreasonable. The affidavit and invoice Plaintiff's counsel
submitted included only six hours of in court time and five hours of out of court time. Of the out
of court time, a mere 3.5 hours were spent researching and preparing the Motion for Remand.
This is a reasonable amount of time to spend on the preparation of a response to a removal
petition. The other 1.5 hours of out of court time was spent preparing for court appearances and
briefing relating to the amount of appropriate costs. Of the time Plaintiff's attorney spent in
court, two of the six hours were only necessary because Defendant’s attorney needlessly noticed
up a motion on a removal petition. On the whole, Plaintiff's request for reimbursement of costs
in this matter is imminently reasonable.
ORDER
A. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c), Plaintiff Eileen Terry is hereby awarded the
amount of $2260.00 for costs, fees and expenses incurred as a result of
Defendant’s improper removal of the case to federal court.
B. Defendant Ronald Nagler and his attorney John Xydakis are hereby ordered to pay
the said amount, $2260.00, to Plaintiff Eileen Terry.

Enter:

Drude | oe.

David H. Coar
United States District Judge

Dated: February 19, 2003