Opinion ID: 409481
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Attorney's Fees for Collection

Text: 19 The district court awarded appellees' attorneys an additional $6,318 in attorney's fees expended in collecting the original $70,000 stipulated fee. This court has held that such an award for fees on collection is proper under section 1988. See Southeast Legal Defense Group v. Adams, 657 F.2d 1118, 1126 (9th Cir. 1981); see also Stanford Daily v. Zurcher, 64 F.R.D. 680, 683-84 (N.D.Cal.1974); aff'd, 550 F.2d 464 (9th Cir. 1977), rev'd on other grounds, 436 U.S. 547, 98 S.Ct. 1970, 56 L.Ed.2d 525 (1978) (refusal to award fees expended on collection would permit dilution of initial attorney's fees award.) 20 The Attorney General, however, contends that the amount the court awarded was excessive. The amount of attorney's fees to be awarded is left to the discretion of the trial court. See Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. Goldwyn, 328 F.2d 190, 221 (9th Cir. 1964), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 880, 85 S.Ct. 143, 13 L.Ed.2d 87 (1964). Nevertheless, in Kerr v. Screen Extras Guild, Inc., 526 F.2d 67 (9th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 951, 96 S.Ct. 1726, 48 L.Ed.2d 195 (1976), we held that in exercising its discretion the district court must take into account certain enumerated factors. There is no indication in the record that the district judge considered the Kerr factors in making his award. Instead, the court simply seems to have multiplied the number of compensable hours claimed by appellees in their declarations by the hourly rate they suggested. Ordinarily remand of such an award would be appropriate to permit the district court to reconsider the award in light of the Kerr factors. See Harmon v. San Diego County, 664 F.2d 770, 772 (9th Cir. 1981); Ellis v. Cassidy, 625 F.2d 227, 231 (9th Cir. 1980). 21 It appears, however, that the Attorney General's claim of abuse of the district court's discretion in awarding attorney's fees was waived in the proceedings below. At the hearing before the district judge on attorney's fees held February 17, 1981, appellees' attorneys offered to abide by the district court's judgment in setting the amount of fees expended in collecting the original award. In response, the Attorney General indicated his willingness to permit the court to look at the points and authorities and papers we have presented here and to stipulate that your honor could decide what would be a reasonable fee for that kind of work. (R.T. 10-11). The Attorney General indicated that his main disagreement with the appellees' attorneys concerned their claim for time spent in their unsuccessful attempt to lobby the California legislature to appropriate the attorney's fee award-the amount for which time the district court explicitly excluded from its final award. Therefore, in view of the Attorney General's agreement to abide by the district court's decision regarding the additional award, we conclude that a remand to consider the Kerr factors is unnecessary in this case. We affirm the additional award.