Opinion ID: 73450
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the legal standard governing attorney fees

Text: AWARDS A reasonable attorney fees award under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 is “properly 6 calculated by multiplying the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation times a reasonable hourly rate.” Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 888, 104 S. Ct. 1541, 1544 (1984). “This ‘lodestar’ may then be adjusted for the results obtained.” Loranger, 10 F.3d at 781. In addition, “all reasonable expenses incurred in case preparation, during the course of litigation, or as an aspect of settlement of the case may be taxed as costs under section 1988.” Dowdell v. City of Apopka, 698 F.2d 1181, 1192 (11th Cir. 1983). The “fee applicant bears the burden of establishing entitlement and documenting the appropriate hours and hourly rates.” Norman, 836 F.2d at 1303. That burden includes “supplying the court with specific and detailed evidence from which the court can determine the reasonable hourly rate. Further, fee counsel should have maintained records to show the time spent on the different claims, and the general subject matter of the time expenditures ought to be set out with sufficient particularity so that the district court can assess the time claimed for each activity. . . . A well-prepared fee petition also would include a summary, grouping the time entries by the nature of the activity or stage of the case.” Id. (citations omitted)