Opinion ID: 418106
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Deletion of Time Spent by Out-of-Town Counsel Due to Unnecessary Duplication

Text: 10 The district court excluded some of the work time spent by defense counsel based on a finding of unnecessary duplication of effort and time due to the association of the two attorneys from Mobile. The court also deleted all of the time incurred by the two attorneys traveling to Birmingham, the site of the trial litigation. The present limited finding and the existing record does not sustain this reduction. The district court has failed to specify any instances of duplicative effort, so it cannot be determined whether any reduction for duplication is warranted. See Tasby v. Estes, 651 F.2d 287, 289-90 (5th Cir.1981) (quoting Northcross v. Board of Education, 611 F.2d 624, 637 (6th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 447 U.S. 911, 100 S.Ct. 3000, 64 L.Ed.2d 862 (1980)). 11 The retaining of multiple attorneys in a significant, lengthy employment discrimination case such as this one is understandable and not a ground for reducing the hours claimed. The use in involved litigation of a team of attorneys who divide up the work is common today for both plaintiff and defense work. While Johnson recognizes the possibility of unnecessary duplication for which double compensation should not be granted, 488 F.2d at 717, a reduction is warranted only if the attorneys are unreasonably doing the same work. An award for time spent by two or more attorneys is proper as long as it reflects the distinct contribution of each lawyer to the case and the customary practice of multiple-lawyer litigation. Ward v. Kelly, 515 F.2d 908, 912 n. 11 (5th Cir.1975). See also Dowdell v. City of Apopka, Florida, 698 F.2d 1181, 1188 (11th Cir.1983). 12 Since plaintiffs had the right to retain more than one attorney, the exclusion of out-of-town counsel's travel time is proper only if it was unreasonable not to hire qualified local counsel. Cf. Dowdell, 698 F.2d at 1192 (travel expenses may be recoverable); McPherson v. School District # 186, 465 F.Supp. 749, 758 (S.D.Ill.1978) (compensating out-of-town counsel for travel time to litigation site but at lower rate). We note that civil rights litigants may not be charged with selecting the nearest and cheapest attorney. Dowdell, 698 F.2d at 1192. 13 IV. Exclusion of Evidence (Restriction on Discovery) of Defendants' Fees and Expenses in this Case 14 Pursuant to a defense motion, the district court quashed a subpoena sought by plaintiffs requiring the defendants to produce all records showing the hours expended by counsel, expenses incurred, and fees paid. The court reasoned, among other things, that this defense information was irrelevant to the reasonable fees and hours of plaintiffs' counsel. The court reaffirmed its position at the evidentiary hearing, sustaining a defense objection to questions concerning the fees charged in this case by defense counsel. The court also refused to admit into evidence, except in regard to expenses, the billing statements of defense counsel in this case, which plaintiffs had obtained in related state litigation. Without objection, however, plaintiffs did inquire about the hourly rate billed by a lead defense counsel, John J. Coleman, Jr. 15 Without suggesting that it would have been error to admit such evidence, we cannot hold that the district court abused its discretion in quashing the subpoena or in sustaining the objection at the hearing in this case. This Court has questioned the relevance of the number of hours spent by defense counsel to a determination of the reasonable fee for plaintiffs' attorneys. Harkless v. Sweeny Independent School District, 608 F.2d at 598. The amount of hours that is needed by one side to prepare adequately may differ substantially from that for opposing counsel, since the nature of the work may vary dramatically. The case may have far greater precedential value to one side than the other. Mirabal v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., 576 F.2d 729, 731 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 1039, 99 S.Ct. 642, 58 L.Ed.2d 699 (1978). With respect to the hourly rate, one side may employ far more experienced counsel. Of course, a district court might properly determine in a given case that these concerns merely go to the weight of the evidence, not to its admissibility or discoverability. See, e.g., Stastny v. Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Co., 458 F.Supp. 314, 318 (W.D.N.C.1978) (deeming fees and expenses of defense counsel relevant to determining reasonable award for plaintiffs' counsel), rev'd in part on other grounds, 628 F.2d 267 (4th Cir.1980). But we cannot conclude that the district court abused its discretion here. 16 Plaintiffs had many avenues to obtain evidence to support their fee petition. Plaintiffs submitted numerous affidavits from other local attorneys concerning their customary fee for litigation-related work. Other affidavits from attorneys discussed the reasonableness of the fee request. In addition, the court allowed plaintiffs to submit much information concerning defense fees. The court advised plaintiffs at the hearing that they could inquire about defense counsel's customary fee, just not their fee in this particular case, and plaintiffs were able to question one defense attorney about the hourly rate he charged in this case. 17