Mr. Kevin W. Bons, OSB #066963

kbons@beckley-law.com

BECKLEY & BONS, P.C.

66 Club Road, Suite 360

P.O. Box 11098

Eugene, OR 97440

Phone: 541-683-0888

Fax: 541-683-0889

Attorney for Defendant Christine DeNoyo

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON

EUGENE DIVISION

JAMES BURT, an individual,

Plaintiff,

v.

CHRISTINE DENOYO, an individual,

 Defendant,

 and

KEY TRADING LLC, a Delaware limited

liability company; RAFAEL DENOYO, an

individual; DAVID SULLIVAN, an

individual; PETER LARKIN, an individual, 

Judgment Defendants.

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Case No. 6:14-cv-01098-AA

MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT

OF MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF

ATTORNEY FEES

1. STATUTE OR RULE GOVERNING ATTORNEY FEES.

Plaintiff filed suit alleging violations of ORS 59.115 - Oregon Securities Fraud. Defendant

has moved the Court for an award of attorney fees when she answered the ORS 59.115 allegations. 

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MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES - Page 1

 

BECKLEY & BONS, P.C.

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

66 CLUB ROAD, SUITE 360 - P.O. BOX 11098 EUGENE, OR 97440-3298

541-683-0888 - FAX 541-683-0889

www.beckley-law.com

Case 6:14-cv-01098-AA Document 92 Filed 12/27/16 Page 1 of 7
Defendant is entitled to an award of attorney fees pursuant to ORS 59.115(10). ORS 59.115(10)

states "... the court may award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party in an action under this

section."

The Parties conferred on December 17, 2016 and were unable to settle the attorneyfees issue.

2. PROCEDURAL HISTORY.

Plaintiff filed a Complaint on July 10, 2014 requesting damages for securities fraud, aiding

and abetting securities fraud, and for equitable relief pursuant to ORS 59.115 and 95.240. Pursuant

to the filing of the Complaint, Plaintiff filed an EmergencyMotion for Order to Show Cause arguing

for preliminary injunction and other equitable relief. On August 31, 2014, the Court denied the

Motion and other equitable relief. Discovery began shortly thereafter. On April 20, 2015, Plaintiff

filed his First Amended Complaint arguing for the additional claims for relief of damages under the

Civil RICO Act pursuant to 18 USC § 1962(c) and (d), and common law conversion. On April 24,

2015, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Compel Discovery that was granted in part. On July 9, 2015,

Defendant substituted attorneys. On July 24, 2015, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Imposition of

Sanctions-Spoilation. On December 11, 2015, the Court assigned Judge Coffin as Special Master. 

On February 10, 2016, Plaintiff's Motion for Imposition of Sanctions-Spoilation was denied. On

October 3, 2016, Defendant filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on all counts. On December 12,

2016, the Court granted Summary Judgment in favor of Defendant on all counts and dismissed the

case. 

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BECKLEY & BONS, P.C.

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

66 CLUB ROAD, SUITE 360 - P.O. BOX 11098 EUGENE, OR 97440-3298

541-683-0888 - FAX 541-683-0889

www.beckley-law.com

Case 6:14-cv-01098-AA Document 92 Filed 12/27/16 Page 2 of 7
3. BACKGROUND.

On June, 29, 2000, Defendant divorced her then-husband Rafael deNoyo. According to the

terms of the divorce, Rafael deNoyo was to pay Defendant $2,012 per month in child support and

$1,000 per month in spousal support. On June 1, 2003, Defendant remarried.

Between September 2005 and January 2006, Plaintiff invested two million dollars with

Judgment Defendants. Judgment Defendants told Plaintiff that they had developed a proprietary

leveraged trading system that would yield monthly returns on his investment. Plaintiff never

received any profits from this scheme and in essence Judgment Defendants stole $2,000,000 from 

Plaintiff with not intent of returning it to him.

After the divorce, Defendant maintained a joint bank account with her ex-husband. 

Defendant stated that she maintained the joint account in order to easily collect the child support and

spousal support owed to her. The arrangement was that Rafael deNoyo would deposit money into

the joint account, and Defendant would withdraw it for herself as dictated in the divorce agreement. 

Plaintiff disputed that version of events. Plaintiff alleged that between October 2007 and January

2012, KeyTrading paid Defendant $180,605 through a combination of wire transfers and checks sent

through the United States mail. Some of those checks included the word "salary" on the memo line. 

Over the same time period, Rafael deNoyo had an obligation to pay Plaintiff $186,744 in child and

spousal support.

Plaintiff and Judgment Defendants reached a settlement agreement in September 2010. After

Judgment Defendants breached that agreement, Plaintiff sued in the United Stated District Court for

the District of New Jersey, alleging fraud and breach of contract. In October 2013. Plaintiff and

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MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES - Page 3

 

BECKLEY & BONS, P.C.

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

66 CLUB ROAD, SUITE 360 - P.O. BOX 11098 EUGENE, OR 97440-3298

541-683-0888 - FAX 541-683-0889

www.beckley-law.com

Case 6:14-cv-01098-AA Document 92 Filed 12/27/16 Page 3 of 7
Judgment Defendants reached a new settlement agreement. Judgment Defendants defaulted on their

payments under the second settlement agreement in October 2013. In June 2014, the District of New

Jersey entered judgment in the amount of $1.8 million dollars against Judgment Defendants.

Plaintiff then sued Defendant, claiming she aided and abetted Judgment Defendants'scheme

and used money stolen from Plaintiff to "live a lavish lifestyle." Defendant argued that she is entitled

to Summary Judgment because Plaintiff has no evidence to support any of his claims beyond

"conclusory statements and innuendo." Plaintiff responded that Summary Judgment was not

appropriate because Plaintiff did not properly observe local rules regarding dispositive motions,

supported her Motion with Declarations that did not meet the requirements of FRCP 56, relied on

inadmissible hearsay to support her Motion, and failed to show Plaintiff cannot succeed on his

claims for fraudulent conveyance, securities fraud, civil RICO violations, and conversion. The Court

found for Defendant and granted her Summary Judgment.

4. HOURLY RATES ARE REASONABLE.

Jeffrey Trautman's rate of $250.00 per hour is reasonable. Kevin Bons' rate of $300.00 per

hour is reasonable. Therefore, the court should base Defendant's attorney fee award based on these

rates. Kevin Bons'Invoice for work on this case is included as Exhibit "1" to his declaration. Jeffrey

Trautman's Invoice for work on this case is included as Exhibit "2" to Kevin Bons' declaration.

Defendant's attorneys seek reasonable rates. As LR 54-3 indicates, the Court uses the most

recent Oregon State Economic Survey as its initial bench mark to determine reasonable hourly rates. 

The Survey indicates the attorney hourly rates from $225 to $314 per hour with an average rate of

$244 per hour and a median rate of $225 per hour in 2012 for attorneys with 10-12 years of practice

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Bill\Filed\Memorandum of

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MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES - Page 4

 

BECKLEY & BONS, P.C.

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

66 CLUB ROAD, SUITE 360 - P.O. BOX 11098 EUGENE, OR 97440-3298

541-683-0888 - FAX 541-683-0889

www.beckley-law.com

Case 6:14-cv-01098-AA Document 92 Filed 12/27/16 Page 4 of 7
in the lower valley. The rate should be adjusted upward to account for the increase in the cost of

living since 2012. The Ninth Circuit calls this adjustment rate the "lodestar" and had approved it as

"proper." US v. Real Property Known As 22249 Dolorosa Street, 190 F.3d 977, 984-85 (9th Cir.

1999). Therefore, those rates move upwards to a range of $253 to $353 per hour with an average

of $275 per hour and a median of $253 per hour. Thus, the requested rates of $250 per hour for Mr.

Trautman and the $300 per hour for Mr. Bons is reasonable as they both have ten to twelve years

experience practicing law. 

The reasonableness of Plaintiff's attorneys hourly rates is further demonstrated when

compared to the hourly rates of Plaintiff's attorneys. Mr. Seibert indicated to the Court that his

billing rate was $450 per hour with a 2009 bar number and Mr. Silver's hourly rate was $495 per

hour. See Exhibit "3" to Kevin W. Bons' Declaration.

5. HOURS BILLED.

The 277.4 hours spent by Defendant's attorneys is reasonable. The hours spent is reasonable

because of the complexity of the case and the issues involved. Defendant's claims and defenses were

reasonable. An award of attorney fees will not deter others from asserting good faith claims of

violations of Oregon's Security laws. An award of attorney fees, however, may deter unmeritorious

claims of the same. A Dismissal on Summary Judgment shows the relative merits of Plaintiff's

claims for relief and Defendant's defense thereof.

Defendant's reasonableness is further evidenced by the number of hours Plaintiff spent on

this case. Plaintiff's counsel indicated that they spent a combined 427.9 hours from the Motion to

Compel (April 24, 2015) to the filing of the Motion for Sanctions-Spoilage (November 24, 2015). 

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Bill\Filed\Memorandum of

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MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES - Page 5

 

BECKLEY & BONS, P.C.

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

66 CLUB ROAD, SUITE 360 - P.O. BOX 11098 EUGENE, OR 97440-3298

541-683-0888 - FAX 541-683-0889

www.beckley-law.com

Case 6:14-cv-01098-AA Document 92 Filed 12/27/16 Page 5 of 7
See Exhibit "3" to Kevin W. Bons' Declaration. Plaintiff's diligence in pursuing his claims by filing

numerous Motions and legal communications required equal diligence by Defendant. 

6. PARTIES ENTITLED TO AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES.

Pursuant to ORS 20.077, 20.190 and 59.115(10) the prevailing party may request attorney

fees. Summary Judgment was granted to Defendant on all matters herein, therefore, Defendant

prevailed. The amount of fees requested by Defendant is reasonable. Defendant is requesting an

award of $80,892.00 for attorney fees. As set forth in this Memorandum, the amount requested by

Defendant is reasonable and supported by the record in this action.

7. CONCLUSION.

For the aforementioned reasons, Defendant's request for attorney's fees should be granted

in its entirety.

DATED this 27th day of December, 2016.

BECKLEY & BONS, P.C.

By: /s/ Kevin W. Bons 

 Kevin W. Bons, OSB No. 066963

 Attorney for Defendant Christine Jordan

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Bill\Filed\Memorandum of

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MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES - Page 6

 

BECKLEY & BONS, P.C.

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

66 CLUB ROAD, SUITE 360 - P.O. BOX 11098 EUGENE, OR 97440-3298

541-683-0888 - FAX 541-683-0889

www.beckley-law.com

Case 6:14-cv-01098-AA Document 92 Filed 12/27/16 Page 6 of 7
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, KEVIN W. BONS, hereby certify that I am the attorney for Defendant Christine DeNoyo,

and that I caused to be served the foregoing MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES,

DECLARATION OF KEVIN W. BONS, DECLARATION OF KELLY R. BECKLEY,

DECLARATION OF LOUIS L. KURTZ, and MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF

MOTION FOR ATTORNEY FEES on the 27th day of December, 2016 on the attorneys for Plaintiff

listed below by the electronic filing.

Franklin Jason Siebert

FJ SEIBERT, LLC - A LAW OFFICE

P.O. Box 4441

Salem, OR 97302

jason@seibert-law.com

David C. Silver

SILVER LAW GROUP

11780 West Sample Road

Coral Springs, FL 33065

dsiler@silverlaw.com

BECKLEY & BONS, P.C.

By: /s/ Kevin W. Bons 

Kevin W. Bons, OSB No. 066963

Attorney for Defendant Christine Jordan

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE F:\CLIENTS\Jordan,

Christine\Cost

Bill\Filed\Memorandum of Law

in Support of Motion for

Attorney Fees (22 DEC 16).frm

BECKLEY & BONS, P.C.

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

66 CLUB ROAD, SUITE 360 - P.O. BOX 11098 EUGENE, OR 97440-3298

541-683-0888 - FAX 541-683-0889

www.beckley-law.com

Case 6:14-cv-01098-AA Document 92 Filed 12/27/16 Page 7 of 7