Opinion ID: 755554
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: kirsch's challenges

Text: 62 Kirsch contends principally that the district court erred in setting aside so much of the first judgment as awarded him double damages of $530,000 and ordering a second trial on damages if he would not accept a remittitur to $232,748. As to the conduct of the second trial, Kirsch contends that the court erred in excluding evidence of the high compensation paid to other Fleet Street employees and in instructing the jury that the backpay period ended in June 1994, and that the judge's deportment denied him a fair trial. In addition, he contends that he was entitled to reinstatement or front pay on his ADEA claim and should have been awarded higher attorneys' fees; and he challenges the manner in which his labor law claim was submitted to the first jury.
63 In challenging the district court's order for remittitur or a new trial and seeking reinstatement of the original judgment, Kirsch contends that the court could not properly set aside the first jury's award of damages without finding that the amount of that award was so high as to shock the judicial conscience. He argues that the court did not make such a finding and that there was, in any event, evidence sufficient to support the first jury's award. For the reasons that follow, we see no basis for reversal. 64 The trial judge has  'discretion to grant a new trial if the verdict appears to [the judge] to be against the weight of the evidence.' ... This discretion includes overturning verdicts for excessiveness and ordering a new trial without qualification, or conditioned on the verdict winner's refusal to agree to a reduction (remittitur). Gasperini v. Center for Humanities, Inc., 518 U.S. 415, 433, 116 S.Ct. 2211, 135 L.Ed.2d 659 (1996) (quoting Byrd v. Blue Ridge Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc., 356 U.S. 525, 540, 78 S.Ct. 893, 2 L.Ed.2d 953 (1958)). The district court has authority to enter a conditional order of remittitur, compelling a plaintiff to choose between reduction of an excessive verdict and a new trial, 65 in at least two distinct kinds of cases: (1) where the court can identify an error that caused the jury to include in the verdict a quantifiable amount that should be stricken, ... and (2) more generally, where the award is 'intrinsically excessive' in the sense of being greater than the amount a reasonable jury could have awarded, although the surplus cannot be ascribed to a particular, quantifiable error. 66 Trademark Research Corp. v. Maxwell Online, Inc., 995 F.2d 326, 337 (2d Cir.1993) (quoting Shu-Tao Lin v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 742 F.2d 45, 49 (2d Cir.1984)). Where there is no particular discernable error, we have generally held that a jury's damage award may not be set aside as excessive unless  'the award is so high as to shock the judicial conscience and constitute a denial of justice,'  O'Neill v. Krzeminski, 839 F.2d 9, 13 (2d Cir.1988) (quoting Zarcone v. Perry, 572 F.2d 52, 56 (2d Cir.1978)). Where the court has identified a specific error, however, the court may set aside the resulting award even if its amount does not shock the conscience. In either circumstance, the district court's evaluation that damages are excessive is reviewed for abuse of discretion. See generally Gasperini v. Center for Humanities, Inc., 518 U.S. at 432-37; Dagnello v. Long Island R.R., 289 F.2d 797, 806 (2d Cir.1961). 67 In the present case, the district court granted defendants' motion for a remittitur or new trial on the ground that the jury erred by calculating Kirsch's entitlement to backpay on the basis of sums in excess of Kirsch's own compensation. In light of the June 1994 ending of the period for which Kirsch was entitled to backpay, see Part III.C.1. below, and the clear evidence as to his compensation just prior to his discharge, we see no abuse of discretion in this decision. The evidence was that when Kirsch was discharged, his salary was $60,000, his fringe benefits did not exceed $5,000, and he had earned nothing on his 2% override. At that level of compensation, if Kirsch had not been discharged, he would have earned, from May 1991 until his June 1994 retirement, $200,417. The court correctly held that that $200,417 was required to be reduced by the estimated $63,274 that Kirsch earned in working for Tomen during that period and the $20,769 in severance payments he received from Fleet Street. The court concluded that those figures permitted a calculation of Kirsch's backpay loss at no more than $116,374, which when doubled would come to $232,748. 68 Kirsch contended that the verdict should be sustained on the basis that the jury had calculated his backpay award by starting with the annual salary and fringe benefits that the company had agreed to pay Kedrus ($80,000 plus $15,000). As discussed in Part III.B. below, we see no abuse of discretion in the district court's ruling that Kirsch's backpay should not be computed on the basis of the earnings of persons such as Kedrus or members of the Haber family, whose positions were not comparable to Kirsch's. That ruling was reflected in the court's instructions to the first jury that if it found that Kirsch was constructively discharged because of his age, he was entitled to be ma[d]e ... whole through the recover[y of] lost wages an[d] benefits, and that the jury was to determine his entitlement to backpay with reference to the amount that would have been earned. (First Tr. 1207.) In order to make Kirsch whole by reference to the amount that would have been earned, the jury was required to refer to Kirsch's own compensation, for he was injured only to the extent that he lost what he, not what someone else, would have earned. Since the jury awarded far more than was reasonably inferable from the evidence of what Kirsch himself would have earned, it plainly did not follow the court's instructions. 69 Accordingly, we see no basis for reversing the district court's determination that insofar as the jury found that Kirsch had suffered more than $116,374 in lost back wages, the jury erred by basing that finding on something other than evidence of Kirsch's own level of compensation. The order for remittitur or a new trial was not an abuse of discretion. 70
71 Kirsch contends that the district court erred at the second trial in refusing to allow him to introduce evidence as to the compensation that Fleet Street paid to Kedrus, Lustig, and Alan and Steven Haber. He contends that that ruling impeded proof of his damages. We disagree. 72 A backpay award for discriminatory discharge is intended to restore the employee to the status quo he would have enjoyed if the discriminatory discharge had not taken place. McMahon v. Libbey-Owens-Ford Co., 870 F.2d 1073, 1079 (6th Cir.1989) (internal quotation marks omitted); see Loeffler v. Frank, 486 U.S. 549, 558, 108 S.Ct. 1965, 100 L.Ed.2d 549 (1988) (backpay award under Title VII is a manifestation of Congress' intent to make 'persons whole for injuries suffered through past discrimination'  (quoting Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 421, 95 S.Ct. 2362, 45 L.Ed.2d 280 (1975))); Whittlesey v. Union Carbide Corp., 742 F.2d 724, 727-28 (2d Cir.1984) (same under ADEA). Such an award should be based on what the employee himself would have earned had he not been discharged. Evidence of the salaries paid to other individuals may be relevant to that calculation, but only insofar as the plaintiff lays a sufficient foundation to permit the reasonable inference that his salary would have matched or been pegged to the salaries of others. The trial court has considerable discretion to determine whether there is such a sufficient foundation, see generally George v. Celotex Corp., 914 F.2d 26, 28 (2d Cir.1990) (district court's determination of relevance will not be disturbed unless it evidences an abuse of discretion); and even an erroneous ruling will not lead to reversal unless affirmance would be inconsistent with substantial justice, Fed.R.Civ.P. 61. 73 The record at the first trial of the present case easily justified the district court's conclusion that Kirsch's position was not sufficiently similar to the positions of Kedrus, Lustig, and the Habers. Kirsch had been a road sales representative and in 1985-1990 was also a sales administrator. In the latter capacity he was merely a liaison with the other road reps, responsible for knowing the company's inventory, promotional merchandise, and product lines; he had no supervisory control over the road reps: no authority to set compensation, to establish work schedules, or to hire and fire. Indeed, he was not even privy to the company's decision to fire the other road reps in 1987: he was not informed of that decision in advance, was not invited to attend its implementation, and was not informed of the company's reasons thereafter. 74 Kedrus, in contrast, had previously occupied managerial posts at two major companies in the industry, had supervised staffs of 10-15 salespersons, and was hired to be Fleet Street's national sales director. Kedrus was placed in charge of sales and discipline of the sales staff, was given supervisory authority over Kirsch, and was to locate new growth opportunities for the company and devise marketing strategies. Although Lustig was more similar to Kirsch in that he was a sales representative who reported to Kedrus, Kirsch did not present sufficient evidence of the similarity of their performance or responsibilities in terms of, for example, number or size of accounts, the volume of sales they generated, or their profitability. And the Habers were surely not comparable to Kirsch, for they were not only supervisors of Kirsch's supervisor, they were officers and owners of the company. 75 In sum, given Kirsch's failure to present evidence sufficient to permit a reasonable inference that his compensation would have matched or been linked to theirs, we see no abuse of discretion in the district court's ruling that the compensation paid to Kedrus (totaling $95,000), Lustig ($152,992), Steven Haber ($162,600), and Alan Haber ($200,000), was not relevant to the calculation of the extent to which the constructive discharge injured Kirsch, whose pre-discharge compensation totaled $65,000. 76 Kirsch's reliance on cases such as Stratton v. Department for the Aging for the City of New York, 132 F.3d 869, and Burger v. New York Institute of Technology, 94 F.3d 830 (2d Cir.1996), for the proposition that evidence on damages should be admitted with respect to employees whose job functions were not necessarily identical to those of the plaintiff, is misplaced. Stratton did not permit damages to be shown by evidence of the salary paid to a person in a different position. Rather, we upheld the admission of evidence as to the salary paid to the person who was hired in preference to the plaintiff for one particular position. There was no suggestion that Stratton's backpay entitlement could be measured by the salary paid to her supervisor or her supervisor's supervisors. And Burger dealt not with the calculation of damages at all but rather with the sufficiency of the evidence to show that a discharge had occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination. It contains no suggestion that a plaintiff is entitled to have his backpay for an unlawful discharge based on the compensation paid to other employees whose job circumstances are not similar.
77 Kirsch also contends that the district court improperly truncated the period for which he was entitled to backpay and erred in denying him the additional remedies of front pay and reinstatement. 78
79 Kirsch contends that the district court erred in ruling that the period for which he was entitled to backpay ended in June 1994. We reject this contention in light of the evidentiary and procedural record in this case. 80 A plaintiff who has proven a discharge in violation of the ADEA is, as a general matter, entitled to backpay from the date of discharge until the date of judgment. See, e.g., Dunlap-McCuller v. Riese Organization, 980 F.2d 153, 159 (2d Cir.1992), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 908, 114 S.Ct. 290, 126 L.Ed.2d 239 (1993); Saulpaugh v. Monroe Community Hospital, 4 F.3d 134, 144 (2d Cir.1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1164, 114 S.Ct. 1189, 127 L.Ed.2d 539 (1994); Thorne v. City of El Segundo, 802 F.2d 1131, 1136 (9th Cir.1986) (court should compute the backpay award from the date of the discriminatory act until the date of final judgment). The backpay period ends prior to judgment, however, if the plaintiff has theretofore retired, for a discriminatee is not entitled to back pay to the extent that he fails to remain in the labor market, NLRB v. Mastro Plastics Corp., 354 F.2d 170, 174 n. 3 (2d Cir.1965) (discussing backpay entitlement under National Labor Relations Act), cert. denied, 384 U.S. 972, 86 S.Ct. 1862, 16 L.Ed.2d 682 (1966). A plaintiff may not simply abandon his job search and continue to recover back pay. Hansard v. Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Co., 865 F.2d 1461, 1468 (5th Cir.) (ADEA plaintiff not entitled to backpay for period after he stopped looking for work), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 842, 110 S.Ct. 129, 107 L.Ed.2d 89 (1989); see, e.g., Thorne v. City of El Segundo, 802 F.2d at 1133-38 (no backpay for four-year period in which Title VII plaintiff chose not to work). 81 In the present case, the jury was not asked to make a finding as to when Kirsch retired. Rather, it was informed that he had retired in June 1994, in the question Did plaintiff make a diligent search for other work in the period after he retired to Florida in June 1994 (Verdict Form Question 7 (emphasis added)). The formulation of this question was doubtless based on Kirsch's testimony that when he and his wife moved to Florida in June 1994, I retired (First Tr. 164). And although Kirsch also testified that he had not wanted to retire before age 70 (i.e., some 3 1/2 years after the move to Florida), we see no indication in the record that he objected to the verdict form's description of him as having retired. Consistent with Kirsch's having retired, and consistent with his testimony that the extent of his efforts to seek work after moving to Florida was to inform some of his New York acquaintances that he was available to show their products in Florida, the jury found that after moving to Florida, Kirsch did not make a diligent search for other work. Further, having been instructed that Kirsch could be awarded front pay only if future damages were caused by the constructive discharge, the jury found--again consistent with Kirsch's having retired in June 1994--that Kirsch was not entitled to any front pay. 82 If Kirsch wanted a finding by the jury as to when he retired, it was incumbent on him at least to request, prior to the start of the jury's deliberations, see Fed.R.Civ.P. 49(a), that such a question be included in the verdict form and that the answer to that question not be treated as undisputed elsewhere in the verdict form. Since no such question was submitted or requested, if the question of when Kirsch retired was in dispute when the case was submitted to the jury, the resolution of that issue was left to the trial judge. See, e.g., id.; Cullen v. Margiotta, 811 F.2d 698, 730-31 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 483 U.S. 1021, 107 S.Ct. 3266, 97 L.Ed.2d 764 (1987), overruled on other grounds, Agency Holding Corp. v. Malley-Duff & Associates, Inc., 483 U.S. 143, 107 S.Ct. 2759, 97 L.Ed.2d 121 (1987); Getty Petroleum Corp. v. Island Transportation Corp., 878 F.2d 650, 656 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1006, 109 S.Ct. 1642, 104 L.Ed.2d 157 (1989). 83 To the extent that the question was in dispute, the trial court fulfilled its responsibility to make a finding on that issue, ruling that Kirsch had retired in June 1994. In light of Kirsch's own testimony, that ruling cannot be overturned. The court's conclusion that the period for which Kirsch was entitled to backpay ended in June 1994 was therefore correct.
84 Kirsch also contends that he was entitled to be reinstated to his position at Fleet Street. We disagree. 85 Although the ADEA allows the court, in its discretion, to order reinstatement, see 29 U.S.C. § 626(b), which can serve to reestablish the prior employment relationship ... and at the same time assure the plaintiff of employment free of discrimination based on age, Whittlesey v. Union Carbide Corp., 742 F.2d at 728, the court may find that relief inappropriate if the employer-employee relationship may have been irreparably damaged, Padilla v. Metro-North Commuter Railroad, 92 F.3d 117, 125 (2d Cir.1996) (internal quotation marks omitted), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 2453, 138 L.Ed.2d 211 (1997). Further, reinstatement is a forward-looking remedy that should not be awarded where the plaintiff's eligibility for relief under the ADEA has terminated before judgment. See, e.g., Geller v. Markham, 635 F.2d 1027, 1036 (2d Cir.1980) (reinstatement unwarranted where jury found that the plaintiff had been hired only for a one-year term, and that term had expired), cert. denied, 451 U.S. 945, 101 S.Ct. 2028, 68 L.Ed.2d 332 (1981). 86 In this case, the district court found, in light of, inter alia, the hostility Kirsch had described at trial and the fact that Kirsch had been retired since June 1994, that reinstatement was not a suitable remedy. 1996 Posttrial Order at 11. Given the record, we see no abuse of discretion in the court's refusal to order reinstatement.
87 Where an ADEA plaintiff is entitled to forward-looking relief but reinstatement is inappropriate, the district court has discretion to award front pay. See, e.g., Padilla v. Metro-North Commuter Railroad, 92 F.3d at 125; Dominic v. Consolidated Edison Co., 822 F.2d 1249, 1256-57 (2d Cir.1987); Whittlesey v. Union Carbide Corp., 742 F.2d at 728. Kirsch contends that since the court did not award reinstatement, it should have awarded him front pay. This contention, even if properly preserved, is meritless. 88 As a procedural matter, it does not appear that the issue of front pay is properly before us, since we see no indication in the record that Kirsch moved the district judge to grant him that relief. His motion following the first trial requested reinstatement but did not request front pay. Indeed, in his affidavit supporting the motion for reinstatement, Kirsch argued that the court should grant him reinstatement [s]ince the jury concluded that I was not entitled to front pay. (Affidavit of Daniel Kirsch dated October 18, 1995, p 17.) Kirsch's apparent posttrial belief that the front pay issue had been resolved by the jury may or may not have been correct. The question of whether front pay should be awarded under the ADEA is one as to which the parties had no right to a jury trial, see, e.g., Dominic v. Consolidated Edison Co., 822 F.2d at 1257 (issues concerning equitable relief are not to be tried by a jury), although they could of course have consented to such a trial, see Fed.R.Civ.P. 39(c) (In all actions not triable of right by a jury ... the court, with the consent of both parties, may order a trial with a jury whose verdict has the same effect as if trial by jury had been a matter of right.). On this appeal, Kirsch invokes Dominic and argues that the jury's verdict was merely advisory and not binding on the court; his present view obviously contradicts the premise on which he urged the district court to grant his posttrial motion for reinstatement. On the other hand, his present view may be correct, for the record clearly indicates that at trial, defendants did not consent to have the issue of front pay decided by the jury. (See First Tr. 1120 (defense counsel stating defendants' objection and position that front pay is not an issue to be submitted to the jury. I understand from the court it will do so on an advisory issue [sic ] only with respect to front pay....)). Defendants' position on appeal, however, with a favorable jury answer in hand, appears to be that the jury's verdict was not merely advisory after all (see Defendants' brief on appeal at 42 (the jury already determined no front pay would be awarded)). 89 We need not determine, however, whether the parties are entitled to their opportunistic reversals of position. Whatever the validity of Kirsch's assumption following the first trial that the jury's denial of front pay was definitive, we see no indication that Kirsch moved the district court to award him front pay, nor any indication that the court understood him to move for front pay, for the court's denial of his motion for reinstatement did not mention front pay. Thus, even assuming that the jury's verdict on front pay was merely advisory and that the question remained open, we conclude that in light of Kirsch's failure to pursue that remedy by motion to the district court, the question of his entitlement to front pay has not been preserved for review. 90 Finally, as a substantive matter, if such a motion was thereafter properly presented to the district court, thereby preserving it for appellate review, we conclude that it was well within the district court's discretion to deny it. 91
92 Under Article 6 of the New York Labor Law, an employer is required to pay a commission salesman in accordance with the agreed terms of employment. See N.Y. Labor Law § 191(1)(c). The statute defines a commission salesman as an employee whose earnings are based in whole or in part on commissions, id. § 190(6), and a person who is not an employee but an independent contractor is not within the scope of this section, see, e.g., Rivers v. Butterhill Realty, 145 A.D.2d 709, 710-11, 534 N.Y.S.2d 834, 836 (3d Dep't 1988); Guepet v. International Tao Systems, Inc., 110 Misc.2d 940, 443 N.Y.S.2d 321 (1981). 93 Kirsch contends that irrespective of the outcome of the challenges relating to his ADEA claim, he is entitled to a new trial on his labor law claim because the question of whether he was an employee was improperly submitted to the jury. He argues (1) that the district court unduly narrowly defined the factors that the jury was to consider in considering whether plaintiff was an employee or an[ ] independent contractor (Kirsch brief on appeal at 43), and (2) that [t]he question of whether an individual is an 'employee' under the New York Labor Law is a question of statutory interpretation that must be a legal question that only a Court of law can determine after the jury makes findings regarding the relevant operative facts (id.). We find no basis for reversal in either contention because the instructions given were not erroneous and because the manner of submitting the question to the jury arguably was not error, and if error, was surely harmless. 94 Preliminarily, we note that contrary to Kirsch's present contention that the court's instructions to the jury were unduly narrow, his attorney at the charging conference sought instructions that were narrower than those eventually given: 95 MR. WISEHART (Kirsch's attorney):.... 96 I think ... the jury should only be requested to determine the factual issues of direction or control, and that that is what is required based upon the totality of the circumstances in this particular case, not upon some general preconception.... 97 .... 98 THE COURT: ... I will add: Therefore it is up to you to judge, based upon the totality of the circumstances in this case, whether Mr. Kirsch, when he was performing duties as a salesman, was an independent contractor or an employee under the totality of all the circumstances. 99 .... 100 MR. WISEHART: I think the totality of circumstances goes to the issue of control. 101 .... 102 MR. WISEHART: I think it should deal only with the issue of control. The jury should find based on that issue. 103 THE COURT: Overruled. 104 (First Tr. 1123-27.) The instruction eventually given by the court, quoted in Part I.B. above, was broader than that sought by Kirsch, and we are not persuaded that the court's instructions in any way misled or inadequately informed the jury of the law. 105 As to the matter of whether Kirsch was an employee is an issue of law or of fact, the question is perhaps closer. In reviewing rulings after the bench trial of a claim under a federal statute in Brock v. Superior Care, Inc., 840 F.2d 1054 (2d Cir.1988), we discussed factors to be considered in determining whether a person was an employee or an independent contractor in light of the totality of the circumstances, and we noted that the existence and degree of each factor is a question of fact while the legal conclusion to be drawn from those facts--whether workers are employees or independent contractors--is a question of law. Id. at 1059. On the other hand, in the context of a claim for commissions under the very statute at issue here, a state court has stated that the question of whether [a] plaintiff was an employee or an independent contractor within the meaning of the New York Labor Law is a question of fact for trial. Rivers v. Butterhill Realty, 145 A.D.2d at 711, 534 N.Y.S.2d at 836. See also In Matter of Rivera, 69 N.Y.2d 679, 512 N.Y.S.2d 14, 504 N.E.2d 381 (1986) (upholding, as a factual determination entitled to a substantial-evidence standard of review, an administrative board's finding as to the existence of an employment relationship). 106 Whether the bottom-line question of whether a plaintiff was an employee or an independent contractor is characterized as a question of law or a question of fact, however, we cannot see that the submission of that question to the jury warrants a new trial. See generally 28 U.S.C. § 2111 (reversal not warranted for errors or defects which do not affect the substantial rights of the parties). Such questions are regularly presented to juries that are instructed to return general verdicts, informed by the court's instructions on the law and given the direction that if they find that the plaintiffs in question were employees (and find all of the other elements of the plaintiffs' claims proven), they should simply state that they find in favor of the plaintiffs. Given the established principle that a trial judge has discretion to call for a general verdict rather than a special verdict, see, e.g., Skidmore v. Baltimore & O.R. Co., 167 F.2d 54, 66-67 (2d Cir.) (Fed.R.Civ.P. 49(a)'s provision for special verdict is permissive, not mandatory), cert. denied, 335 U.S. 816, 69 S.Ct. 34, 93 L.Ed. 371 (1948); 9A C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2505 (1995), we cannot conclude that the refusal of the trial court in this case to give the jury only specific fact questions and to reserve to the court the determination of whether Kirsch was an employee or an independent contractor, affected Kirsch's substantial rights. 107 We note parenthetically that the trial record was ample to permit any decisionmaker to conclude, in light of the totality of the circumstances, that Kirsch was not an employee but an independent contractor. The record included evidence that prior to being placed on salary in 1990, Kirsch was not required to spend time in the company's offices; was free to set his own schedule and take vacations when he wished; did not have the company withhold income or Social Security taxes; did not receive employee benefits such as health insurance; was not reimbursed for his expenses; was allowed to sell merchandise on behalf of other companies; and described himself as independently employed. We see no basis for a new trial. 108 Finally, Kirsch has also asked, if we deny him a new trial on the labor law claim, that we allow him to amend his complaint to assert a claim for breach of contract. We reject this request. When a plaintiff has not moved for leave to amend in the district court, we are ordinarily disinclined to exercise our discretion to grant his belated request on appeal. See, e.g., Dwares v. City of New York, 985 F.2d 94, 101 (2d Cir.1993). We see no indication that Kirsch asked the district court for leave to amend to assert a contract claim, even after the first jury had rejected his labor law claim and after it became clear that there would, for other reasons, be a partial second trial. We decline to allow a tardy amendment that would necessitate a third trial.
109 Following the jury verdict at the first trial, Kirsch submitted a motion for an award of $329,431.30 in attorneys' fees. The court deferred its ruling until after the second trial. On November 7, 1996, at the close of the second trial, the court indicated its belief that there would be an expedited appeal, and it stated that in order to permit all issues to be reviewed together, it wanted to resolve quickly any questions as to attorneys' fees. The court therefore asked: 110 THE COURT: .... Do any of you wish to add anything, as far as attorneys fees? 111 MR. WISEHART: We have additional time. 112 THE COURT: I want the case to proceed. 113 MR. WISEHART: We have nothing to add for the period of time covered. 114 (Transcript of Second Trial (Second Tr.) 317.) Kirsch did not thereafter supplement his motion for attorneys' fees. 115 In an Opinion and Order dated December 4, 1996 (December 1996 Fee Decision), the court awarded Kirsch attorneys' fees in the amount of $89,475, finding that Kirsch's request for $329,431.30 was unreasonable for several reasons. First, it found that though Kirsch claimed a $325/hour rate for his lead counsel, Wisehart, Kirsch had not provided adequate justification for that rate. For example, Kirsch had not submitted evidence either of the rates he himself had been charged for this suit or of Wisehart's customary rates. Accordingly, noting that there was no defense objection to the requested rate of $175 per hour for senior associate time, and noting that in a comparable case pending from 1979 to 1987, Wisehart as lead counsel had received hourly rates of $175-$200, the court concluded that a reasonable rate of compensation for Wisehart's time in the present case would be $250 per hour. 116 Second, the court found that the number of hours for which fees were sought was excessive. It excluded hours devoted to the unsuccessful pursuit of Kirsch's labor law claim, rejecting the argument that that claim was inextricably intertwined with his ADEA claim, and finding instead that the two claims were unrelated in fact or law. Because the records submitted in support of the fee application did not indicate clearly the amount of time spent on each claim, the court considered plaintiff's pattern of discovery, legal submissions to the Court[,] and [the] allotment of time at trial and reduced the number of hours by 50%. Id. at 11. 117 Third, the court ruled that a further reduction of 20% was warranted in light of vague or otherwise inconsistent [time sheet] entries, as well as other unrecoverable hours. Id. at 12. It pointed out that 118 [a] number of the attorneys' time entries merely note, for instance, letter to court, staff conference, or work on motion. Such entries are too vague to sufficiently document the hours claimed.... Plaintiff's attorneys' time submissions are also marked by inconsistencies. For instance, certain counsel documented conferences with other attorneys, even though such conferences do not appear on the other attorneys' time sheets. Furthermore, some of the time entries are likely redundant, because a junior associate was brought into the middle of the litigation, [and] no doubt had to expend significant time familiarizing herself with the history and status of the case.... Therefore, after careful consideration of plaintiff's submissions, the Court determines an additional twenty (20) percent reduction in the attorneys' time expenditures would sufficiently account for inadequately documented, inconsistent or redundant expenditures of time. 119 Id. at 12-13. 120 Finally, the court awarded no fee for work done in connection with the second trial on damages, finding that Kirsch had declined to make additional fee submissions relating to the latest damages trial. December 1996 Fee Decision at 7. The court added that even if such a request had been made, ... an additional amount would not have been warranted as part of a reasonable fee award given the circumstances of this case. Id. 121 Kirsch challenges all of these reductions. We review awards of attorneys' fees for abuse of discretion, see, e.g., Saulpaugh v. Monroe Community Hospital, 4 F.3d at 145; Hagelthorn v. Kennecott Corp., 710 F.2d 76, 86 (2d Cir.1983), and we find no abuse of discretion here. 122 The court's normal starting point for calculating reasonable attorneys' fees to be awarded to a prevailing civil rights plaintiff is the calculation of a so-called lodestar figure, which is arrived at by multiplying the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation ... by a reasonable hourly rate. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983); see Cruz v. Local Union No. 3, 34 F.3d at 1159. The lodestar should be based on prevailing market rates, Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 895, 104 S.Ct. 1541, 79 L.Ed.2d 891 (1984), for comparable attorneys of comparable skill and standing in the pertinent legal community. 123 Applications for fee awards should generally be documented by contemporaneously created time records that specify, for each attorney, the date, the hours expended, and the nature of the work done. See, e.g., Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. at 437 n. 12, 103 S.Ct. 1933; Lewis v. Coughlin, 801 F.2d 570, 577 (2d Cir.1986); New York Association for Retarded Children, Inc. v. Carey, 711 F.2d 1136, 1147-48 (2d Cir.1983). Hours that are excessive, redundant, or otherwise unnecessary, are to be excluded, Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. at 434, 103 S.Ct. 1933; and in dealing with such surplusage, the court has discretion simply to deduct a reasonable percentage of the number of hours claimed as a practical means of trimming fat from a fee application, New York Association for Retarded Children v. Carey, 711 F.2d at 1146. A prevailing party who is entitled to a fee award for his successful prosecution of successful claims is not entitled to a fee award for unsuccessful claims that were based on different facts and different legal theories, Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. at 434, 103 S.Ct. 1933. 124 These principles were properly applied by the district court in this case. In light of Kirsch's submissions, we see no abuse of discretion in the adjustment of the rate to be paid for Wisehart's time or as to the 20% reduction for vagueness, inconsistencies, and other deficiencies in the billing records. 125 Kirsch's contention that he should have received fees for the pursuit of his unsuccessful labor law claim is likewise meritless. Kirsch succeeded on a claim that arose under the ADEA, which required proof of an age-motivated constructive discharge in May 1991 by means of an oppressive salary adjustment and account reassignment. In contrast, his failed claim for commissions was asserted under the New York Labor Law, covered the years 1984-1989, was based on an alleged 1970 oral contract regarding commissions and on other events predating 1990, and had nothing to do with his age. The key issue for the labor law claim was whether Kirsch was an employee or an independent contractor in that pre-1990 period, which was not an issue with respect to his ADEA claim. The district court properly ruled that the two claims were unrelated in fact or legal theory and that fees should not be awarded for pursuit of the failed labor law claim. 126 Finally, we see no abuse of discretion in the court's refusal to award Kirsch fees with respect to the second damages trial. In so doing, the court, in part, interpreted Wisehart's statements at the end of that trial as indicating that Kirsch did not intend to request fees for that trial. See December 1996 Fee Decision at 7 (plaintiff's counsel stat[ed] he had nothing to add as far as attorneys' fees for the period of time covered). We think the statement referred to was ambiguous, both on its face and in light of counsel's preceding statement that [w]e have additional time (Second Tr. 317); and we would not uphold the denial of fees for the second trial on the basis of the nothing to add statement alone. In fact, however, no seasonable supplemental fee request was submitted. There can be no question that in the November 7 discussion the court alerted the parties that it intended to decide the fee question quickly and that if the parties wished to make additional submissions they should do so promptly; and there is no question that, in the several weeks between that colloquy and the court's issuance of the December 4 fee decision, Kirsch, though submitting a motion for different relief, did not submit any request for fees relating to the second trial. In light of Kirsch's failure to make such a submission, the district court was justified in not awarding fees with respect to the second trial. 127 Nor do we see any abuse of discretion in the court's conclusion that even a timely request for fees with respect to the second trial would properly have been denied. Kirsch had been given the option of accepting a remittitur that would have given him a backpay award of $232,748; his refusal to accept the remittitur, thereby necessitating the second trial, won him a backpay award of $190,000. The court had discretion to conclude that Kirsch should not receive a fee award for time spent to obtain a judgment for some $40,000 less than the judgment he could have received without any additional work. F. Kirsch's Criticism of the Trial Judge 128 Finally, we note that Kirsch contends that he was denied a fair trial at the second trial, arguing that inappropriate behavior by the trial judge convey[ed] the impression that the Court held an unfavorable opinion of both plaintiff's case and his counsel. (Kirsch brief on appeal at 23; see also id. (demeanor of the judge transgressed his appropriate role, in the presence of the jury).) Our review of the record persuades us that this contention is unjustified. 129 First, a number of the trial judge's statements of which Kirsch is critical were made during sidebar conferences, out of the hearing of the jury. Although Kirsch states that the court's statements in these conferences reflected hostility ... evident to everyone in the courtroom (id. at 24), we see nothing in the record to indicate that the sidebars were conducted in other than the normal manner, i.e., quietly and discreetly so that the jury could not hear. Thus, although the contents of some of the sidebar colloquys plainly do indicate a degree of frustration (understandably, in light of the record) at the refusal of plaintiff's counsel, Wisehart, to comply with the court's prior rulings, the record does not support Kirsch's contention that the court conveyed an impression of partiality. 130 Moreover, although Kirsch argues that judicial hostility was evident because during Wisehart's summation the Court interrupted an unprecedented sixteen times (id. at 24), the record shows that virtually all of the interruptions were in fact objections by defense counsel. Further, all of the objections were prompted by inappropriate arguments by Wisehart. For example, in defending the compensation paid to Kirsch's expert witness, which was in evidence, Wisehart began to compare that figure to what, based upon his stature, my adversary has received for the last week. (Second Tr. 282.) The court appropriately admonished Wisehart not to testify and to confine his arguments to matters in evidence. Further, Wisehart suggested, without any evidentiary basis in the record, that if the jury felt that Kirsch would have received salary raises in the absence of the discrimination, it could decide that [his compensation] could be increased by 50 percent. (Id. 279.) The court appropriately instructed the jury not to engage in speculation. 131 To the extent that the court itself interrupted statements by Wisehart even before objections were made by the defense, it did so in response to plainly improper arguments. For example, after being admonished not to urge the jury to speculate on increases of 50%, Wisehart stated to the jury, some of you know the sales field (id. 280), which prompted the court to remind the jurors that they were not to base their verdict on information other than the evidence admitted at trial. Similarly, when, in urging the jury to augment Kirsch's base salary, Wisehart began to state, Also, there is a legal basis. This Court, in the case that was decided-- (id. 284), the court properly interrupted to admonish Wisehart not to argue the law to the jury (id.). In sum, Kirsch's attorney's improper arguments to the jury invited objections and admonitions. We see no unfairness in the trial.